In no way am I trying to scare my readers. But I do want to say without reservation that this is not a time to be unclear or fuzzy about where you stand with God. This is not a time to ignore the fact that you could die at any moment and find yourself face to face with your Creator who created you with purpose and with expectations.

As I've studied it over the years, it seems to have the idea of God's covenant, faithful, unconditional, never ending love for His covenant people. Few things have helped my walk with God over the years more than meditating on this concept in the Psalms.

. The wicked are always looking for an excuse to justify their rebellion, and one of their favorite excuses is hypocrites in the church or people in the church who practice lawlessness. Peter says our godly behavior and uprightness in observing the laws of the land actually silences such people.

“The West has lost Christ, and that is why it is dying; that is the only reason.”                        Fyodor Dostoevsky – Russian...

One of the ways we can get to know Him better is by studying and meditating on why He came to this earth. He spoke to this often in different ways.

This we believe is the historical precedent of appointing deacons for the two-fold purpose of meeting real needs and to protect elders, pastors, apostles and prophets from getting diverted or distracted from daily seeking God and His will and way.

Unprincipled men or women under the church umbrella are a great danger to the health and vitality of Christ’s church. And one of the best ways to avoid this danger is to strive by His power and grace to be a principled man or woman like our Savior.

Almost 50 years later, looking back on all of that, I still think undistracted time alone with the Living God as early in the morning as possible is still one of the greatest gifts He has given to us.

".... it is a grave mistake to put our hope and trust and security in government and/or military leaders and military might."

" (fathers) when you as a lifestyle submit to and welcome the loving, wise, and perfect disciplining and purifying authority of your Heavenly Father, your disciplining of your sons and daughters will have far more authority and effectiveness."