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Gone Fishin'

~ …“Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men!”

Gone Fishin'

Tag Archives: Spiritual

Spiritual Edge

03 Sunday Sep 2017

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Poetry

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edifying, empowering, filling, Fire, Holy Spirit baptism, inner strength, outpouring, overflowing, refreshing, renewing, restoring, showers of blessings, Spiritual, spiritual edge, supernatural, the anointing, water, wind

TheHolySpirt'sAnointing

 

These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. ~ 1 John 2:26-27, NASB

 

 

 

Life came at me hard—

Doors closed

Friends left

Foes pounced

Time chased me,

Backed me in corner

Made me a mourner

‘Til His Shalom restored—

Green pastures

Still waters

Packed tables

Stuffed from end to end,

Abounding with refreshment

Gushing with enjoyment

‘Til my cup overflowed—

Oil spilt

Fire flared

Wind blew

Amazing Grace showered me

During spirit’s drinking spree

‘Til anointing dumbfounded the enemy;

Spiritual edge omitted from life’s serenity.

 

 

– composed September 3, 2017

 

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Another August 13th

11 Thursday Aug 2016

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Spiritual

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as one, dissolution of marriage, dissolve, divide, divine, divorce, God joins, God's Institution of Marriage, legal divorce, legal separation, marriage certificate, marriage license, married in spirit and soul, overstep bounds, permanent, pull apart, put asunder, REAL Marriages, sanctifies, sanctions, seals, separate, Spiritual, state government, supernatural, totally committed, unites

AUGUST 13, 2016

 

Some Pharisees came to test Him. ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ they inquired. ‘What did Moses command you?’ He replied. They answered, ‘Moses permitted a man to write his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away.’ But Jesus told them, ‘Moses wrote this commandment for you because your hearts were hard. However, from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.’ ~ Mark 10:2-9, Berean Study Bible

My husband divorced me in 1998. Our divorce was final in July of that same year—just 28 days shy of our 27th Wedding Anniversary. 

In 1971, we got married on August 13th. This year, on August 13th, it would have been our 45th Wedding Anniversary. 

While I realize that what is done is done, which simply means that my divorce is in the past, and while I have not put my hands to the plow and looked back but have continued to reach upward and go forward, as the Holy Spirit leads me, empowers me, teaches me, and helps me to be about my Father’s Business, being divorced STILL troubles me. Without fail, every year for the last 18 years in a row, about 5 days leading up to and at least 2 or 3 days after August 13th I invariably feel a deep sense of loss. 

For the record, I would rather be singing “because I’m happy,” from the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams—or doing backflips (which I never could do, even when I was way younger). What I am trying to say is that feeling anything other than this profound sorrow would be an improvement. Let me make this perfectly clear. I do continually praise and thank God for His Love and the ministry He has given to me, yet, even though I know that I am His Child and that He has my best interest at heart, the fact still remains that what God has joined together has been altered by the state of Virginia. This man-made alteration is what brings me down every year around this time.

Now, according to America’s divorce laws, I am a single woman. I have been, according to the state of Virginia, single now for 18 years—divorced on the grounds that we “had lived separate and apart without any cohabitation and without any interruption since October 15, 1996!” Well, that is a lie, because my husband moved back in with me several times before he made his last exit. However, I could not contest this false living ‘separate and apart without any cohabitation and without any interruption’ claim, because I was denied all divorce proceedings’ notifications—but that’s another story that I may blog about one day. The point here is that according to God’s marriage LAW—the One who joined us—I am still married to my husband in my spirit and soul. 

Contrary to popular opinions, just because a married couple signed legal separation papers, this husband and wife’s agreement only means they have gotten into bed with their state government. In other words, signing and returning a marriage certificate (a legal state document that proves a couple is married to each other) to a county clerk of court gives that state’s man-made court system the right to issue legal separation papers that literally allow a living separate and apart couple to have an open marriage—their state has the LEGAL secular power to give every couple the okay to break God’s Commandments! 

Put differently, since both civil and religious marriages involve a husband, wife, and their state, this fact means that each state—once it receives and records a marriage certificate—now has the right to issue legal separation papers, which give legally married couples the okay to commit adultery, fornication, covetousness, marital genocide (married couples are now helping their state systematically “kill” God’s Institution of Marriage), and familial genocide (married couples are now helping their state systematically “kill” God’s Institution of Family), and so on and so forth. Furthermore, because each state receives and records marriage certificates, this fact also means that when a divorce happens each state government not only has the right to issue legal divorce papers but also has the right to take control of a married couple’s marriage, home, children, material assets, financial assets, social security benefits, and retirement benefits. 

The uncomfortable truth is that, as far as God and His Institution of Marriage are concerned, legal separation papers in no way speak for God. The Divine Truth is that God never issues legal separation papers—HE NEVER gives a couple He has joined together the right to move on with someone else while he or she is still legally married! 

The deeper uncomfortable truth is that a marriage license, though considered to be a legal man-made document, does not give a couple the right to marry. Additionally, a marriage certificate, which also is a legal man-made document, does not mean any couple who gets legally married is married in God’s eyes. For the record, REAL MARRIAGES—the God-kind of Marriages—take place in each couple’s spirits (hearts) and souls. As such, this kind of union is supernatural, permanent, and divine—the kind of union God forbids anyone to try to pull apart or divide. 

God is the One who sanctions, sanctifies, and seals every couple who has entered into His kind of spirit, soul, mind and body marriage—a totally committed marriage. This Divine Truth is why a signed and recorded marriage certificate doesn’t prove any couple who has NOT entered into a totally committed marriage is married—is joined in marriage in God’s sight. Indeed, a marriage certificate doesn’t make anyone married! Only a spiritual and faithful—a permanent and divine—commitment in each other’s spirit and soul is what makes a man and a woman a married couple.

The bottom line is that each state government only can separate and dissolve or divorce couples that each state has joined together—every state government, in God’s eyes, only can separate and dissolve or divorce couples who are not genuinely married in their spirits and souls—couples who spiritually (supernaturally) are NOT ONE as God has sanctioned, sanctified, and sealed them to be. When any state government legalizes a separation and then legalizes the dissolution of marriage (legalizes a divorce) of a couple who is married the way God intends for that couple to be married—permanently, divinely, and supernaturally in their spirits and souls—then that state government has overstepped its bounds. This last statement is uncomfortably true because from the moment we Americans gave our state governments the power to put asunder (pull apart; divide) what God has joined together we all began to play a part in our state governments’ systematic destruction of God’s Institution of Family and God’s Institution of Marriage. 

I said all that to say this: Regardless of whether or not my former spouse meant to be joined to me permanently, divinely, and supernaturally by his spirit and his soul, this is exactly how God joined me to my husband. No doubt this unbreakable connection to him is why God has not allowed me to move on and be joined to someone else. As a result, every August 13th—as well as at least 5 days leading up to it and 2 or 3 days after it—I suffer from a deep sense of loss that cannot be avoided no matter how hard I try. It is what it is. I feel like I lost my soulmate, and, until God changes me, I believe I will feel this way, every year around this time, for the rest of my life on Earth.

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On Time by Design

05 Sunday Jun 2016

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Short Story

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1971, answered prayers, belief, by design, content, contentment, divine planning, divine timing, Fairchild AFB, faith, fictional, God's best-laid plans, intimate relationship, Japanese Garden, Manito Park, meandering path, on time God, revealed truth, Short Story, Spiritual, strolling, supernatural, together for good, trust, work all things, zigzagging river

Fairchild Air Force Base Back In The Day

I ABSOLUTELY BELIEVE in an on-time God who achieves what He plans. Life has proven to me that the chief ways God works all things together for my good are through His best-laid plans and divine timing. This revealed truth has made all the difference. Intimately knowing and trusting in the One who works all things together for my good has helped me to become physically, emotionally, and spiritually content with everything.

My contentment’s development began as far back as 1971, when God’s divine timing and planning supernaturally revealed themselves to me while I was stationed at Fairchild Air Force Base.

My second day on the base, right after Damon Anderson and I entered the Base’s mess hall, we casually approached the closest table to our right. One of the six men sitting around that table leisurely looked up at me. Seconds later my co-worker, Damon, made introductions.

     “My brothers. Meet our newest sister, Chellette—uh” 

He paused then apologetically whispered, “What’s your last name, again?”

     “Wood.”

     “That’s right.”

     “Fellows, this is Chellette Wood.”

     “What’s happening?” They chimed in. 

     “Just checking out the Base before going back to my crib to chill?” In the same breath, I quickly added a cordial inquiry:

     “What’s poppin’?”

They all agreed that there wasn’t much happening. Because Damon was rushing me, I was forced to end the conversation.

     “Well, it was nice to meet you. Check you later,” I said as I gave the fellows a friendly smile.

     “Right on, sister.”

Damon’s hand was in the small of my back, nudging me, so I waved goodbye and moved without delay toward the next table.      

My initial visit to the mess hall happened in mid-April. A few weeks later, I had my first dated with Titus Lansing—a high yellow, well-mannered, good-natured, handsome young man of medium build, with alluring brown eyes and tightly curled black hair. This delicious eye candy, as it turns out, was one of the six Airmen Damon first introduced me to—the guy who leisurely looked up at me from their table.

Though so good looking, what actually pleased me most about Titus was his persistent pursuit of me and the fact that—unlike other men, who only cared about my outer beauty—Titus was drawn to my humble confidence and gentle spirit, as he frequently mentioned. As it turns out, his brown sugar was me—a reddish brown, well-mannered, warm-hearted, attractive young woman of slender build, with drowning brown eyes and a shapely black afro.

Once we started dating steadily, for the next three months and twenty days Titus drove his white 1959 convertible Thunderbird to my barracks every morning, afternoon, and evening. No exceptions!

Our Base was twelve miles west of Dawson and adjacent to a two-lane highway that stretched across acres of farmland. Since Titus and I enjoyed life’s simpler side, on weekends we amused ourselves by taking scenic drives on the faded, white-lined Route 2 into Dawson, where we cruised Division Street, Riverside Avenue, or North River Drive. 

A few times we ate a picnic in the rustic Riverside State Park—located northwest of Dawson. Zigzagging along this park, which also included a portion of a 37-mile-long all-natural trail, was the Dawson River.

When we had the money, we frequented Zip’s on Division Street in Dawson and pigged-out on a Papa Joe meal—a shake, some French fries or fried onions, and a Papa Joe hamburger with lettuce, tomato, American cheese, grilled sliced ham, bacon, and special sauce. Sometimes, we went to Longhorn Barbecue, which was near the Base, and feasted on this restaurant’s very pricy but tasty beef or pork rib platters. However, after one meal from Longhorn, we had to curb our eating out habit until our next payday.

On Sundays, we worshipped with some of our married or engaged military friends at Mount Zion Baptist Church in Dawson. When the service was over, we either fellowshipped with our friends or we treated ourselves to a Coeur d’Alene day trip.

On the fiftieth consecutive day of our whirlwind courtship, Titus changed his weekday routine. When we were in our mess hall eating lunch, he softly whispered into my ear:

     “We are eating at a fine-dining restaurant tonight. Our reservation is for 7:30, so be ready by 5:45. Dress for the occasion.”     

My curiosity piqued. I must have asked a hundred questions, but he dodged every one. He refused to give me any details. 

For the rest of that afternoon, I was bouncing off the walls. I sprinted to my job’s pick-up/drop-off parking area and fidgetily waited. Spotting Titus’ Thunderbird from a distance, my heart raced faster. That was my body’s way of confirming my life would change drastically this very night.

By the time Titus pulled into my barracks’ parking lot, I was pacing back and forth in our favorite curbside spot. He stopped his car in front of me, left the engine running, chivalrously walked me to the passenger door, opened it and helped me into his car, then returned to his seat. Apprehensive, excessive energy was bouncing everywhere inside that Thunderbird.

The sun was setting. There was a warm, faint breeze. Though it was early evening, the masses had not begun to run helter-skelter.

The atmosphere was perfect for an intimate conversation, but there was dead silence in the car. We only exchanged smiles, as we watched the farmland’s spring green, wheat gold, cattle black, and foliage pastels gradually turn to Dawson’s leafy green west end of South Hill with its Gothic and English Baroque architectural styles.  

Our brief chats during our meal were a bit strained at times, primarily because nervous energy plagued us—him, because he wanted everything to be perfect; me, because I sensed Titus was going to propose. The question was in his flirtatious brown eyes, in his enticing smiles, in his kind hand gestures, and in his rapid breathing. The question was in the Sunday come-to-meeting navy blue three-piece suit he was wearing the heck out of, as well as hidden in between every one of his politely articulated remarks.

Much to my chagrin, I received no proposal during dinner. As soon as I thought that I read him wrong, I became even more disappointed. Then, as I wondered why he let so many wonderful moments go to waste, I became annoyed.

As we walked to the car, my displeasure and irritation suddenly dissipated the moment I sensed he was taking me to some other romantic spot to pop the question. Titus confirmed my intuition seconds later when he whispered,  

     “There’s a special place I want you to see.”

     “For real?  Where is it?”

    “In Manito Park. I found it a month before you came to Fairchild. I am certain that the reason why I’m just now taking you there is because of timing.”

     “What do you mean?”  

  “In my life, God’s divine timing and planning have been responsible for every wonderful and good thing that has happened to me, so I believe He had me save my special place for tonight.”

We sat in silence, once again. By the time I asked if he would play some music, we were nearing Manito Park’s entrance.

We must have walked for fifteen minutes before we reached the heart of the park—the Japanese Garden. From the moment I saw this place, I not only knew this was Titus’ special place but also I knew it was Manito Park’s showpiece.

There was something spiritual about our stroll on the Japanese Garden’s meandering gravel path, which actually looped around the garden. The path was lit by granite lanterns, and it was surrounded by exotic, aromatic, breathtakingly manicured plants, shrubs, and trees.

Inside the Japanese Garden were an oriental gazebo, a teahouse, and assorted statues. Framed by colorful foliage that hid a small waterfall was an arched Asian stone bridge. This Japanese footbridge was situated over a stunningly serene Koi pond.

After we stopped in the middle of the bridge and watched the koi below us, Titus finally proposed to me. There was more silence, while my wet with tears eyes danced a love waltz. After about ten seconds, I finally mustered my audible loving acceptance.  

Titus wept through a gleeful grin. I swooned with teary-eyed joy. After he held me in a minute-or-so embrace, he stepped back, reached into his right pant pocket, and pulled out a royal purple ring box. Flipping it open, he showed me the symbol of his love—a solitaire engagement ring in white gold—which Titus tenderly slipped on my ring finger.     

Suddenly we were transfigured. Stock-still, as if paralyzed by a supernatural spell, we lingered in this state of consciousness, while all about us onlookers passed by in slow motion. 

When the spell broke, we were still oblivious to others, even though we resumed our stroll. Before long we were back in our car heading home.

From that second on, time flew. My last rousing memory of this night’s activities was our passionate goodnight kiss. 

Before drifting off to sleep that night, I took one last peep at my ring and then thank God for His best-laid plans and His divine timing. I had prayed many times to God, asking Him to show me the man He wanted me to marry, and He finally answered my prayers that night. After thanking God, I slept briefly but peacefully.

The next few days, in almost every waking hour, my thoughts were held captive by wedding visions. Before the year was out, my visions came true.

~ from my Contemplation manuscript, which I composed in 2004. This entire manuscript is based loosely on my life, and that is why the names of some places, people, and events in this opening chapter are fictitious. This is the first time I have edited or revised any portion of my manuscript since 2004, and I have done so this week just so I could turn the opening chapter into a very short story.

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True Spiritual Worship

22 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Spiritual

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born-again spirit, earthly, God's nature and character, heavenly, increased knowledge about God, inwardly, outwardly, praise tongues, prayer tongues, regenerated spirit, sensuous, spirit and truth, spirit to Spirit, Spiritual

Worship To God

But the time is coming—it has, in fact, come—when what you’re called will not matter and where you go to worship will not matter. It’s who you are and the way you live that count before God. Your worship must engage your spirit in the pursuit of truth. That’s the kind of people the Father is out looking for: those who are simply and honestly themselves before him in their worship. God is sheer being itself—Spirit. Those who worship him must do it out of their very being, their spirits, their true selves, in adoration. ~ John 4:23-24, MSG

We are born again ONLY in the spirit (heart)—not in the soul and not in the body. Indeed, only our born again individual spirit is our new nature—our new man; a new creation. In other words, our born-again spirit is no longer dead to God (no longer separated from God).

Moreover, our now born-again spirit not only is righteous and holy but also our regenerate spirit is filled with God’s agápe love (cf. Romans 5:5), His Law (cf. Hebrews 10:12-17), His spiritual gifts (e.g., cf. 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4:11-13), His power (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8; Romans 15:13; Ephesians 3:20), and His Perfect Will, which is in the form of the Holy Spirit—the Holy Spirit is that Source of God’s Perfect Will (that Divine enablement), which God Himself put inside every believer (cf. Philippians 2:13). As such, we now can enter into God’s presence to develop our relationship with Him, fellowship with Him, and worship Him.

Then too, because we love God with all of our heart (born-again spirit), soul, and might (totality) [cf. Deuteronomy 6:5; Mark 12:30], our agápe love for Him, which is in our spirit (heart), is what influences our desire to worship God in spirit and truth. Put differently, worshipping all of God (The Father, who is Spirit; the Son, who is Spirit; and the Holy Spirit, who is Spirit) in spirit and in truth only happens when we worship God with all of who we are. All of who we are is in our new man identity (our born again spirit), which means, since God is an uncreated, unmeasured, infinite and eternal Spirit, the only way we can worship our God is with our born-again spirit, and with EVERYTHING He has put within our regenerate spirit.

That’s right! When we worship God in spirit and in truth, we are not worshipping Him with our bodies (our raised arms and hands, or bended knees, or praying hands, or dancing bodies, or musical instruments, or the songs we sing during a worship service, like, for example, three praise songs, one prayer song, one communion song, and one invitation song). That kind of worship is sensuous (the Old Testament’s way of worshipping God, which is outwardly and earthly). Under the New Testament’s covenant of Grace, believers in Christ Jesus worship God in a true and spiritual way, in particular, inwardly and heavenly.

Put differently, only our sin-free spirit can touch or communicate (no doubt, in tongues) with God, who is the Spirit who created spirits, including our individual spirit. Therefore, when our individual spirit worships God in spirit and in truth, our individual spirit is worshipping God in the only true (properly informed, precisely described) spiritual manner suitable to His Nature and His Character, both of which are holy, righteous (morally good; morally right), loving, kind, patient, joyous, disciplined, gentle, faithful, peaceable, triune, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, and so forth.

That is to say, God has given us His Nature so that being like Him would come naturally to us. In other words, the parts of His “Nature” He put in us are how we should be living and behaving naturally. Our praise and worship in spirit and truth, then, happen when God sees our born again new nature (spirit) doing what it is naturally expected to do—when God sees us living holy and righteous lives that are totally Christ-like! 

The bottom line is that none of our humanly devised formulas for our worship services is true and spiritual worship. For sure, the Word of God properly informs and precisely describes for us our true and spiritual worship. For example, with our praise tongues (in the Spirit), we are to sing praise songs, prayer songs, and communion songs (cf. Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16); and we are to use our prayer tongues (in the Spirit) when communicating with God (cf. Romans 8:26; 1 Corinthians 14:2).

In summary, the only life that is holy and pleasing to God is our new spirit-man’s life. For this reason, the way we worship with God will be spirit to Spirit, which is why we can worship Him anywhere at any time. Since our bodies are the temple of the Lord, our spirit goes with us wherever our body goes, and yet, once again, no unregenerate body or soul will be used in our true and spiritual worship.

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost indeed is that time that has come and engaged our spirit in a pursuit of truth (more knowledge of who God really is and information about how He truly wants us to worship Him). This current Age is no doubt the prophesied time of increased knowledge (cf. Daniel 12:4), and this truth is why we no longer have any excuses for why we don’t understand what Christ Jesus means by worshipping God in spirit and in truth. Clearly this kind of worship means more than being indwelt with the Holy Spirit, and worshipping God in spirit and in truth means more than singing three praise songs, one prayer song, one communion song, and one invitation song during an organized worship service. A word to the wise should be sufficient.

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Christian Believers Must Be Both Godly And Spiritual

12 Wednesday Oct 2011

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Spiritual

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Baptized with the Holy Spirit, Christ-like characteristics, faithful, full of the Holy Spirit, godly, heart "spirit" knowledge, power and authority, Spirit-driven, Spiritual, spiritual giftings, spiritually mature, steadfast

Believers Who Are Overcomers Are Both Godly AND Spiritual

As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, ‘I am holy; you be holy.’ You call out to God for help and he helps—he’s a good Father that way. But don’t forget, he’s also a responsible Father, and won’t let you get by with sloppy living. Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God. It cost God plenty to get you out of that dead-end, empty-headed life you grew up in. He paid with Christ’s sacred blood, you know. He died like an unblemished, sacrificial lamb. And this was no afterthought. Even though it has only lately—at the end of the ages—become public knowledge, God always knew he was going to do this for you. It’s because of this sacrificed Messiah, whom God then raised from the dead and glorified, that you trust God, that you know you have a future in God. Now that you’ve cleaned up your lives by following the truth, love one another as if your lives depended on it. Your new life is not like your old life. Your old birth came from mortal sperm; your new birth comes from God’s living Word. Just think: a life conceived by God himself! ~ 1 Peter 1:16-24, MSG

 

The reason why most of today’s Christian believers do not have the same supernatural successes like the first century Christian believers had is because too many of this 21st century’s Christian believers are spiritual but not godly, or they merely are hypocrites—that is, they have an outward appearance of being godly and spiritual, but inwardly they are neither godly nor spiritual. Furthermore, since God who is a Spirit is godly and spiritual, then anyone who calls him or herself a Christian believer also must be both godly AND spiritual.

For the record, if someone were living a godly life, then this person’s conduct would be under the influence of the Holy Spirit (he or she would be Spirit-driven)! That is why a Spirit-driven believer is a born again, saved, indwelt, and filled with the Holy Spirit person who, thus, is both godly and spiritual. Certainly, to conduct one’s life in the godly ways that Jesus the Christ conducted His life no doubt means he or she must display the same kind of godly characteristics the Lord displayed—holiness, righteousness, love, kindness, mercy, grace, forgiveness, gentleness, patience, self-discipline, and so forth. Therefore, for Christian believers to be overcomers who are godly and spiritual, their godly characteristics ONLY can be the “spiritual” results of the Holy Spirit’s sanctification process—a process that gives every baptized with the Holy Spirit (every full of the Holy Spirit) Christian believer the power, authority, and spiritual gifts that make it possible for a Christian believer to live like Jesus the Christ lived AND to do the same kinds of “good” and “righteous” miracles, signs, and wonders that Jesus the Christ did!

So then, while there are genuine Christian believers who indeed are godly AND spiritual (full of the Holy Spirit individuals), who steadfastly and faithfully demonstrate Christ-like characteristics, unfortunately, there also are genuine Christian believers who have not allowed the indwelling Holy Spirit to grow them up in the Spirit. As such, these latter believers are spiritual, in that they are born again, saved, and have the Holy Spirit living inside them, but they do not consistently or faithfully conduct their lives in godly ways, because they have not surrendered to the Holy Spirit’s leadings, promptings, teachings, etcetera. The bottom line: These Christian believers are spiritually immature and, therefore, supernaturally powerless believers, all because they are not full of the Holy Spirit (are NOT baptized with the Holy Spirit)!

Then too, there are those individuals who profess to be Christian believers (those persons who only have made a mental assent); they are not spiritual for they are not born again, saved, or indwelt by the Holy Spirit; therefore, they also are NOT godly—they have a form of godliness but deny the power thereof (cf. 2 Timothy 3:1-5). In other words, if they are not spiritual (are neither Holy Spirit indwelt nor Holy Spirit filled), then they never can be truly godly; that is, they will never have the supernatural power, authority, and spiritual gifts that ONLY are available to the spiritually victorious born again and saved believers. As a result, the mental-assent believers only can act as if they were holy, righteous, merciful, gracious, and so on, but their acting would be just an outward show because they would lack the necessary inward conversion.

The sad truth is that these professed Christian believers have heard Divine Truth, have believed, accepted, and agreed with what they heard, have testified to the veracity of what they have heard, BUT, in reality, they ONLY have head knowledge. Consequently, these mental-assent believers do not do what they profess to believe, approve of, attest to, and so forth. Put differently, they just have ideas (head knowledge) about what it means to be a Christian believer instead of knowing in their “heart” (spirit) who God the Father, Jesus the Christ, and the Holy Spirit truly are!

The question then is: What kind of Christian believer are you?

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Apostasy Is Not Recognized By Most Believers

16 Sunday May 2010

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Bible Prophecy

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Antichrist, apostasy, apostate, apostate signs, deception, falling away, Spiritual, survey, ubiquitous

Prophesied Apostasy

Now, friends, read these next words carefully. Slow down and don’t go jumping to conclusions regarding the day when our Master, Jesus Christ, will come back and we assemble to welcome him. Don’t let anyone shake you up or get you excited over some breathless report or rumored letter from me that the day of the Master’s arrival has come and gone. Don’t fall for any line like that. Before that day comes, a couple of things have to happen. First, the Apostasy. Second, the debut of the Anarchist, a real dog of Satan. He’ll defy and then take over every so-called god or altar. Having cleared away the opposition, he’ll then set himself up in God’s Temple as ‘God Almighty.’ Don’t you remember me going over all this in detail when I was with you? Are your memories that short? (2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, The Message)

In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the Apostle Paul declares that Jesus the Christ’s bodily return will not happen before there is a great falling away from God’s Truth. After this grand apostasy is achieved, then and only then will the true identity of the Antichrist (the Anarchist, man of sin, son of perdition, man of lawlessness) be revealed. Furthermore, once the Antichrist is revealed, then people literally will be able to count the days until Jesus the Christ returns to earth.

Despite the aforementioned biblical truths, and even though the Word of God is very clear, believers worldwide still declare that they know, right now, who the Antichrist is. It is a shame that these believers are wasting their time looking for the Antichrist instead of using their time to look for the prophesied apostasy—the great falling away from God’s Truth—which, according to God’s Word, MUST happen before the rise of the Antichrist!

For sure, apostasy, in its varying degrees, is everywhere today. Moreover, if the survey results in Cathy Lynn Grossman’s USA Today article are any indication, then without a doubt apostasy sure enough is in today’s churches and local communities; however, the problem is that too many believers just cannot recognize this insidious threat. Perhaps, this inability to identify apostasy is why so many believers are shocked by what Grossman reports in her “Survey: 72% of Millennials ‘more spiritual than religious.’” Grossman writes:


Even among those in the survey who ‘believe they will go to heaven because they have accepted Jesus Christ as savior’:

•68% did not mention faith, religion or spirituality when asked what was ‘really important in life.’

•50% do not attend church at least weekly.

•36% rarely or never read the Bible.


What is frightening is that 72% of these surveyed Christians who are between 18 and 29 years old still claim that they are “spiritual,” whatever that means. The truth is how one believer defines “spiritual” doesn’t mean every believer will define “spiritual” the same way. Therefore, without knowing the difference between God’s Truth and the lies fostered by the heretical doctrines of inclusiveness, moral relativism, and/or secularism, today’s believers will never know to what extent they have been spiritually deceived—never know to what extent they are agreeing or disagreeing with God’s absolute Truth.

Once again, since apostasy, in its varying degrees, is ubiquitous, it is essential for every believer to know with certainty whether or not he or she either is holding steadfast to the Truth that is in God’s Word or is falling away from that Truth. The Holy Bible is clear. The great apostasy will happen before the Rapture, before the start of the Tribulation Period, and before the rise of the Antichrist. Therefore, instead of looking for the Antichrist, believers should be looking for the apostate signs! These apostate signs are EVERYWHERE!

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Which Ship Of Zion Are You?

08 Thursday Jan 2009

Posted by Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen in Devotional

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

captain, counselor, crew, faint, leaders, ship, soul, Spiritual, tsunamis, Uncategorized, weary, worn out, zion

The “meat” in today’s devotion is best understood if you know what kind of Old Ship of Zion you either have boarded or have become. Only the Old Ships of Zion are the ones that successfully have weathered the storms of life. Aboard these ships, the people who have been troubled or nearly drowned by the Tsunamis that swept over their souls will receive priceless wisdom. For this reason, weary from doing well individuals most definitely should seek out these Old Ships of Zion.

For sure, weary, overwhelmed believers purposely should be on the lookout for these ships, and, when they find one, they should yell for Her lifelines. Once these individuals are safe aboard their ship that rescued them, they should soak up everything their spiritual captain and crew (their Holy Spirit led spiritual teachers/counselors) can teach/counsel them about how to stay afloat should life’s colossal ocean waves come crashing down over their weary heads again.

The Old Ships of Zion that not only can rescue, teach, and counsel you but also can help you go the last mile of the Way are as follows:

1. Older ships will teach you reverence.
2. Battered vessels are a practicum in compassion.
3. Fast clippers, leading the fleet under Christ, instill obedience.
4. Slow barges instruct you in patience and kindness, for they often bear the heaviest burdens.
5. Frontline battleships evoke respect and humility.
6. Broken boats will enlarge your heart for meeting needs.
7. And even a collision with another freighter will alert each member to stay on course and faithfully follow love. (WEB)

What kind of Old Ship of Zion are you seeking? How weary, worn and heartbroken are you from doing the Perfect Will of the Father—from giving assistance to whomever it is who is in need? AMEN.

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9, KJV).

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Rev. Nadine Drayton-Keen

Sanctified Child

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