Follow Me!

By Charles Hunter

God and Jesus surely must have appraised all the rich treasures they own, selected the very best, and opened the windows of heaven to send my beloved Frances. to me! To the most Fabulous woman on earth, dedicate this boo! " my own wife, my Frances! Your Charles

FOREWORD
#$s he wal!ed by the %ea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, %imon who is called &eter and $ndrew his brother, castin' a net into the sea( for they were fishermen. $nd he said to them, )Follow me, and will ma!e you fishers of men.*+ Two thousand years later this same scene was reenacted with the same Jesus, the only difference was the man and the occupation. Charles Hunter, Certified &ublic $ccountant, church wor!er for many years, felt the drawin' power of that same man who called &eter and $ndrew from their nets. He called Charles Hunter from his accountin' world with the same ma'net he had used on the disciples and the same power fell on him that fell on them. The twentieth century isn*t any different than the first century, nor are the people involved. ,or is the way into complete discipleship any different now than it was then. t all hin'es on what we do when Jesus says #Follow -e!+ -y heart thrilled the first time met Charles Hunter to discover the call God had put on his life. .ou, too, will thrill with every word and pa'e as you discover how in these days and times, the same thin' can happen in your life. Frances Hunter (Mrs. Charles Hunter)

TABLE OF CONTENTS
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WHAT IS OUR HERITAGE

Businessmen can have peace and prosperity! Businessmen can have Boy, happiness, freedom, and success simultaneously! Businessmen can be free of pressures which brin' on heart attac!s and ulcers and frustrations and still be ri'ht in the middle of the activities that !eep the business world turnin'! Tou'h business and tender love do 'o to'ether to brin' about abundance! &atience can come when deadlines are closin' in on us. /e can have sternness and 'entleness in successfully ne'otiatin' business deals! /hen someone else*s an'er heats to a boilin' point, we can have self control! /e can be !ind to a competitor and still 'et our full share of the mar!et! /e can be 'ood to employees, associates, customers or clients, competitors " at all times and be a winner in the business world!

HOW!
First of all, we must /$,T to! The enthusiastic teacher in hi'h school who was faithfully 'ivin' a final thrust to shove us out of our secure nest into the vast world ahead said #Hitch your wa'on to a star! %et your si'hts hi'h! f you want to be a millionaire, thin! you will be, and don*t be stopped with anythin' until you are one! Thin! positive! Go 4

into deep water if you want to float a battleship or catch a bi' fish!+ 6rive! 6rive! 6rive! This advice is 'ood and has a lot to do with success, because success reCuires intelli'ence, hard wor!, positive thin!in' and perseverance. But total success is a balance durin' life, victory at the end of life on earth, and thereafter an eternal life of the hi'hest order. The richest man on earth can be a total failure within himself and be a pauper in hell for eternity( yet that same rich man can have all the fruit of the %pirit within and have a whole year )round orchard of fruit for eternity. /hat is the road to total, balanced successD Jesus said # am the way, the truth, and the life.+ That*s not a verse of a poem " that*s a fact we can sta!e our very life on " our personal life, our business life, our social life, our eternal life! t*s a foundation which cannot be sha!en or moved or chan'ed. Jesus is the roc! of our salvation. He is the foundation upon which all else is built. $nd what does Jesus sayE # have come to 'ive you life and 'ive it more abundantly!+ #Charles+ For %imon or BillG,+'o out where it is deeper and let down your nets and you will catch a lot of fish!+ F5u!e HE:G #Brin' all the tithes into the storehouse so that there will be food enou'h in my Temple( if you do, will open up the windows of heaven for you and pour out a blessin' so 'reat you won*t have room enou'h to ta!e it in! Try it! 5et me prove it to you!+ F-alachi 8E7=G /ow! /hat an offer made by God himself! t has much more potential and much more certainty 9

than the inspirational theories our school teacher 'ave on how to become a millionaire. God said #This is my beloved %on, and am wonderfully pleased with him. 0bey him.+ F-atthew 79EHG #But now in these days he has spo!en to us throu'h his %on to whom he has given everything, and throu'h whom he made the world and everythin' there is.+ FHebrews 7EAG #For his Holy %pirit spea!s to us deep in our hearts, and tells us that we really are God*s children. $nd since we are his children, we will share his treasures for all God gives to his on !esus is now ours too." F2omans <E74I79G The Jin' James Kersion says it this wayE #The %pirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God# $nd if children then heirs% heirs of God, and &oint'heirs with Christ%. . . 6o you realiLe what these promises meanD Can you even ima'ine what God saysD 6o you realiLe this is a promise to each of us " personally, individually. t*s not a tric!! t*s not phony! t*s not abstract! t*s not impossible! t*s 'enuine, real, and for anyone who wants it! But we must want God and Jesus completely, more than anythin' else or all thin's combined in this world. /e must see! God*s ways with all our hearts. /e must be willin' to follow each instruction 'iven by Jesus for the rest of our lives. /e must dissolve all partnerships with ourselves, thin's or %atan( we must dispose of all stoc! we have in ourselves " sell out completely. Then " it*s a free 'ift.

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For thirty one years read these promises. !new they would come true in heaven. felt God would help me in my business, and in many ways he did. .et never really tapped into the rich treasures God has for us on earth until was about fortyIei'ht. 0nly God can open each of our eyes to this ma'nificent availability of our unlimited herita'e. have prayed that as share how reached this Garden of 3den others can find this fantasy made real. t*s so very simple " yet reCuires a total release of ourselves to the possession and control of God. t reCuires us to believe Jesus is real, is the 6ivine %on of the $lmi'hty God of heaven and earth, and has complete control of everythin', everywhere. That he wants to control us, but cannot unless we relinCuish everythin' to him. /e must /$,T to obey everythin' he tells us to do without a sin'le eMception. /hat a fantastic, unfathomable privile'e to be his servant and be privile'ed to live " not only with him, but in him " and to have him live in us and throu'h us. Thin! of it " we are the Temple or #Home+ where God and Christ Jesus live on earth. /hat is the value of our herita'e as a child of GodD God actually loves us as much as he loves Jesus. FJohn 79EA8G He 'ave everythin' to Jesus, includin' all the tan'ible and intan'ible assets in heaven and earth. He 'ave Jesus all of his power, his wisdom and 'lory. /hen we do what Jesus wants, he 'ives us the use of all that God 'ave him. never dreamed nor ima'ined he meant all these promises can come true in the lives of ordinary twentieth century people on earth. t*s stran'e that all those years really didn*t believe God. ;

want to 'o farther and farther into eMplorin', livin' in and wor!in' in this overwhelmin' Jin'dom of God. *ve enBoyed the past few years since first entered this modern day promised land, and each new discovery eMcites me more than the ones before! Frances and have seen Jesus do such fantastic miracles by the power of God*s Holy %pirit that we can hardly believe what we see. /hen a lar'e lump on a body instantly ceases to eMist before our very eyes because of the touch of Jesus, we come a little nearer to comprehendin' what happened when Jesus #spo!e the universe into eMistence.+ $nd Bust as he spo!e the universe into eMistence, he can spea! success into our business, our marria'e, our home or place in society " our everythin'!! f we /$,T him to, and if we ($)* H+M, The #'rowin'+ pains and Boys of my search for all of God in my life still 'oes on. t will until reach heaven. #6on*t cause the Holy %pirit sorrow by the way you live. 2emember, he is the one who mar!s you to be present on that day when salvation from sin will -e com.lete." F3phesians :E8=G The abundance God 'ives while he is ma!in' room for himself in us is so eMcitin' and marvelous, that his corrective discipline becomes less noticeable " and less necessary. 3very minute of life overflows with inner peace and Boy as we learn to wal!, tal!, thin! and act in the %pirit while Bourneyin' throu'h life on earth to our home in heaven!

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Follow me throu'h these neMt pa'es as have followed Jesus " and see his 'lory made available for each of us " ,0/!!!

77

THE WORLDS BEYOND

*m writin' this chapter in a beautiful settin' on the ban!s of the Blac! 2iver with wooded hills as bac!drops in 5aCrosse, /isconsin. /e have the Boy of seein' Bust about all the scenic wonders of our nation from the air, 'round and water. /e see and marvel at God*s handiwor! and man*s accomplishments in moldin' and shapin' the putty provided at creation into buildin's for business or beauty or both. 0ur earth is ma'nificent!! #$nd God saw everythin' that he had made, and behold, it was very 'ood.+ Gen. 7E8= FJJKG

The Microscopic World

n hi'h school biolo'y recall the wonder of my first pee! throu'h a microscope. had seen many drops of water before " sometimes one standin' alone( sometimes raindrops fallin' by the thousands. But when loo!ed at that first ordinary drop throu'h the enlar'ed eyes of a microscope saw a whole new and different world. was astounded and fascinated at the livin' world movin' about in a small world that had been completely un!nown and overloo!ed by me before. That was a lost world to me, but suddenly a whole new world " a universe " a 'alaMy had been discovered. $nd that world 'rew into 'reater dimensions as loo!ed at the new world of and on and in a tree leaf, a blade of 'rass, a 'rain of sand, a tiny thin hair, a se'ment of s!in, or a smear of blood.

7A

The Underwater World

Then one day visited %ilver %prin's, Florida and discovered for the first time still another world. had been on la!es and rivers hundreds of times before and had always loved to wade or swim or fish in mountain streams or the ocean. But underneath this water world seen throu'h a 'lass bottom boat was the amaLin'ly interestin' and beautiful melody of balance of fish of all shapes and !inds, of bubblin' sprin's blowin' their breath to ma!e the underwater seaweed and 'rasses wave li!e fields of 'rain weavin' in the wind of that )other* world outside. could scarcely drin! in enou'h of this additional new world had stumbled upon " always eMistin', but not !nown or understood by me.

The World of the Bible

-y mind floated bac! throu'h memories to yet another world discovered when was about ei'ht. &oppa Fthat*s the way -ama spelled itG and -ama were #saved+ when a redIheaded itinerant Baptist preacher came to the remote ,ew -eMico villa'e where we were homesteadin'. Jesus became real to them as they searched for his ways in the Bible. They had very little education, but God*s Holy %pirit will teach anyone with enou'h hun'er, discipline and willin'ness to accept the answers he 'ives. $nd teach them he did! They in turn tau'ht me and be'an to find eMcitin' stories in the Bible and Bible story boo!s. God soon created in my youn' undiscovered heartIworld a desire to !now 78

him and his /ord. This world, new to me, led my inCuisitive mind to want to learn more. The tremendous love my parents had for us siM children and the enormous love God is, caused me at this tender a'e to want to serve God all my life. memoriLed the Beatitudes F-atthew HG, John 8E74( and other familiar scriptures. -y ima'ination would run wild as read stories in the Bible. spent hours livin' ri'ht alon' with $braham, -oses, Jesus, &eter, James and John. &erhaps the time in history would have most li!ed to live FeMcept with JesusG was ri'ht after God had finished creatin' the earth, the animals, $dam and 3ve, and the Garden of 3den. /hat a perfect place that was, and even God wal!ed in the Garden. The valley where we lived wasn*t li!e the Garden of 3den where ran and played in my ima'ination. /e did have a beautiful mountain river and acres of clover and 'rass meadows, shaded by hu'e cottonwood trees and willows, and loved to play there. herded my father*s cows in the meadows. But up above the river bottom was where we lived and it was very dry most of the warm months after the snow melted.

A New World of Taste

0ur summers were so short that tomatoes would rarely 'et ripe. /e could not 'row fruit at all. 0ne time when was about ei'ht years old my brother Clyde and had accumulated a bi' sum of money Fa dimeG, and the carnival came to a town about four or five miles from our home. /e wal!ed over to see all these rides and 'ames and thin's which we had 7:

never seen before. /e enBoyed seein' them and li!e all !ids, we wanted to do and see everythin', but with Bust a dime between us, we had to do some very careful choosin'. /ant to !now how we spent our dimeD /e bou'ht siM ripe bananas! /e had never had one before. /e went around to the bac! of a tent and ate them. can taste them ri'ht now! don*t thin! had ever tasted anythin' so 'ood! /e held every bite of them in our mouths and Bust let them melt slowly so they would last as lon' as possible. How loved that first banana ever tasted! n the fall a nei'hbor family would 'o in their wa'on way down south of us and come bac! with the whole wa'on bed loaded with apples and pears. They always 'ave us a few pieces. *ll never for'et the first pear ever tasted! t was ripe and Buicy and sweet and when too! each bite the Buice would run out the sides of my mouth. t was so 'ood Cuic!ly lic!ed it bac!, not wantin' to lose even one drop. t tasted so delicious it always made me want more, but we !new we wouldn*t have more for another whole year. $ll of this made me appreciate the Garden of 3den world God created and you can see why made so many ima'inary trips to this land of abundance. could reItaste every bite of pears, apples and bananas as read about the fruit trees 'rowin' alon' the river. To me that river was li!e the Chama 2iver !new so well, eMcept it had all the fruit 'rowin' there. t bro!e my heart when 3ve and $dam ate the fruit God had told them to leave alone. thou'ht there must have been poison in the fruit because 7H

God said they would die if they ate it. $mon' all that fruit, why did they have to eat the one which was forbidden. almost 'ot mad at them because they were so stupid. saw how God made them leave the 'arden and 'o out into the dry land where thistles and thorns 'rew. -y father wor!ed land li!e this and it was really hard for us to hoe out thistles from our 'ardens and corn fields. They would stic! and hurt if you tried to pic! them up to burn them. had to help irri'ate, too, and that was hard wor!. was little, and when mud stuc! to the hoe or shovel used to ma!e dams to cause the water to run where it was supposed to, they 'ot heavy and 'ot awful tired. But when 'ot tired that didn*t !eep me from wor!in' ri'ht on, or the water would 'et out of control. Bust !new $dam and Cain had to wor! li!e did. They would have !ept livin' in the 'arden and not had to wor! if they hadn*t disobeyed God. $nd God didn*t 'ive them a lot of commands they had to remember. He didn*t even 'ive them ten laws " Bust one " +6on*t touch.+ /e moved to TeMas when was twelve, and would you believe it " we operated a fruit orchard! sn*t that Bust li!e our God! /e 'rew mostly 3lberta peaches, sweet, Buicy, and delicious! /e had one tree in the orchard which was a different species. n our first season we watched the peaches as they developed until finally a few be'an to ripen. This #different+ tree had much more perfect fruit and the peaches must have been more than twice the siLe of the 3lbertas. /e carefully waited until they were fully developed and completely ripe before we 74

pulled the first one. /e could hardly wait, but finally &oppa said it was ripe and ready. /e too! our first bite and " it didn*t taste li!e a peach at all! n fact it didn*t taste li!e anythin'. /e could have eaten cardboard with as much flavor. /hat a terrible disappointment this was! /hen thou'ht of $dam and 3ve tastin' their first bite of that Garden of 3den fruit God commanded them not to eat, it reminded me of our bi' disappointment. 3ve must have been enticed and enthralled by the physical appearance of that #different+ fruit. But oh, how disappointin' it was to her and $dam. The afterItaste must have at first been very bland and then it must have become bitter. %atan still uses the same tactics. %in loo!s so 'ood and promises so much, but it always ends in a total disappointment. These were eMcitin' childhood and early adult worlds. have always had an inCuisitive, searchin' mind. This has resulted in my constantly loo!in' into meanin's of spiritual truths since met Jesus, searchin' out the hidden mysteries of principles of life so often hidden under roc!s of manImade doctrines, or behind walls of denominationalism, or hidden because we don*t search beyond our complacent !nown world of reli'ion.

The Spiritual World

How are spiritual worlds hidden from our view and yet seen by othersD 5oo! at John 7AE8HI:7. Jesus replied, My light will shine out for you just a little while longer. Walk in it while you can, 79

and go where you Want to go before the darkness falls, for then it will be too late for you to find your way. Make use of the Light while there is still time; then you will become light bearers. fter saying these things, Jesus went away and was hidden from them. !ut despite all the miracles he had done, most of the people would not belie"e, he was the Messiah. #his is e$actly what %saiah the prophet had predicted& Lord, who will belie"e us' Who will accept (od)s mighty miracles as proof'* !ut they couldn)t belie"e, for as %saiah also said& (od has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts so that they can neither see nor understand nor turn to me to heal them.* saiah was referrin' to Jesus when he made this prediction, for he had seen a vision of the -essiah*s 'lory. continually search throu'h the Bible for new, eMcitin' and meanin'ful revelations from God " not bi' theolo'ical !nowled'e " Bust simple thou'hts from God which 'ive more understandin' of ways to please him. 2ecently a pastor received the baptism of the Holy %pirit as we ministered in the front of his church. /e were 'uests in his church where he had been pastor for many years. God led us to announce to the con're'ation immediately after he had received the baptism that those who were sic! or afflicted were to come to him for prayer instead of to us. /e as!ed Jesus to anoint his hands for the healin' of the sic!. 7<

He had only discovered a month or two before that people were bein' healed in the twentieth century. 0bediently he prayed for the first person who came with a shoulder problem and pain. nstantly she was healed and pain left! He stood amaLed, loo!in' at his hands! He prayed for another who was healed! Then another " and another! /ithin about thirty minutes he had watched Jesus touch and heal about thirty people " almost everyone he touched! He could not believe this was happenin' " especially not throu'h him. He be'an to comprehend what was meant by Jesus livin' in and throu'h a human. /hen we were alone with him after the meetin' he said. #How could have been a minister for 84 years and never even !now of this &owerD+ He had discovered a new world " a spiritual world of &ower " the real !in'dom of heaven on earth!

The World Beyond Our Intellect

5et me share Bust a little of a discovery of the world beyond our intellect " the world Jesus wants us to find and live in while we are here on earth. 0ne day Frances and were ridin' in a car in north -ichi'an. %he and the lady drivin' were tal!in', and my mind, relaMed by the beautiful fall colors of the trees, be'an thin!in' to God. -y thou'hts went somethin' li!e thisE #Father, you placed such 'reat importance all throu'h the Bible on the )first* son of 0ld Testament families, the )first* fruit to be 'iven to you " even Jesus is your )first* son.+ 7;

The #first+ miracle Jesus did on earth was turnin' water into wine. /hy was this his first miracle and what is the spiritual meanin' of itD /hy was it important enou'h to be #firstD+ God flashed a whole series of scriptures and stories into my mind " li!e a picture seen all at once! t was not li!e a row of words that became a sentence and then para'raphs( and yet the thou'hts were in seCuence. This is what he saidE # n a communion service we parta!e of bread and wine.+ !new the bread represented the body of Jesus to be eaten in remembrance of him, and the wine was a to!en of God*s new a'reement to save us " an a'reement sealed with Jesus* blood poured out to purchase our souls. #Blood is life. /ine represents lifeIblood.+ Then God said the #first+ thin' we must do to be a Christian is to be saved, to be born into the Jin'dom of Heaven. Then the third chapter of John flashed into my mind. 5oo! at it carefully, verses 7I <E +#,- . -/ 01, night a Jewish religious leader named 1icodemus, a member of the sect of the 2harisees, came for an inter"iew with Jesus. 3ir,* he said, we all know that (od has sent you to teach us. 4our miracles are proof enough of this.* Jesus replied, With all the earnestness % possess % tell you this& 5nless you are born again, you can ne"er get into the /ingdom of (od.* !orn again6* e$claimed 1icodemus. What do you mean' 7ow can an old man go back into his mother)s womb and be born again'* A=

Jesus replied, What % am telling you so earnestly is this& 5nless one is born of water and the 3pirit he cannot enter the /ingdom of (od. 8Men can only reproduce human life, but the 7oly 3pirit gi"es new life from hea"en don)t be surprised at my statement that you must be born again6 Just as you can hear the wind but can)t tell where it comes from or where it will go ne$t, so it is with the 3pirit. We do not know on whom he will ne$t bestow this life from hea"en.* ,otice verse H #unless one is born of water" this is when we are born physically( #and the .irit" this is when we are born spiritually, we cannot enter the Jin'dom of God. Then in verse 4 #-en can only reproduce human life, but the Holy %pirit 'ives new life from heaven.+ /e must be turned from /ater into /ine " from physical to spiritual life. /e are already ($*/0 Fborn physicallyG but we must be turned into (+)/ FHoly %pirit 'iven lifeG. /e must be born a'ain! That*s why Jesus* first miracle in our spiritIlife must be the same as his first miracle on earth! Jesus died I to live /e die I to live Grain of wheat I dies to live

The World of Abundance

6urin' the siM months followin' Frances* and my receivin' the baptism of the Holy %pirit, he desire to !now Jesus in a more personal, intimate way 'rew in me. /e both spent every available minute in baptiLin' our minds, our souls, and our spirits with the written /ord of God. A7

The more we read the more we wanted to read( the more of ourselves we yielded to God, the more his %pirit called us to yield( the more we searched, the more we found " the spiritual realm of God*s Jin'dom is. a vast, unendin' dominion of 'reat riches, all available for the spiritual prospector. n the boo! of Colossians, we found one of our favorite veins of 'old " a river bed full of 'old nu''etsE #For God*s secret plan, now at last made !nown, is Christ himself. n him lie hidden all the mi'hty, untapped treasures of wisdom and !nowled'e.+ FCol. AE8G #For in Christ there is all of God in a human body( so you have everything when you have Christ, and you are filled with God throu'h your union with Christ. He is the hi'hest 2uler, with authority over every other power.+ FCol. AE;I7=G 0ne day was thin!in' to God and my thou'hts went somethin' li!e thisE #Father, you !now love Jesus far more than even love Frances. .et, Father, feel her presence and see her more clearly than do him. How can !now and be so close to Jesus that he will be even more real and alive to me than my beloved FrancesD+ God answered so beautifully as he #thou'ht+ bac! to me by flashin' upon my brain a messa'e. Cuic!ly reco'niLed this as the Holy %pirit spea!in' to me and be'an developin' the eMposure he placed on my brain in a sin'le picture. He reminded me of %aul on the road to 6amascus to persecute the Christians. %aul had been a reli'ious leader. He had never met Jesus and did not believe him to be the -essiah, the divine %on of God. But that day %aul AA

met Jesus personally and was wholly his servant the rest of his life on earth. &aul wrote a 'reat part of the ,ew Testament, tellin' us clearly and intimately about Jesus. God*s %pirit put the thou'ht into my mind #/here did &aul learn this much about Jesus " not in the ,ew Testament because it had not been written( it had to be in the 0ld Testament.+ God reminded me that &aul was tau'ht by the Holy %pirit as he studied the then written scriptures. God said to me, #.ou 'o bac! to the 0ld Testament and *ll show you Jesus who has lived since the be'innin'.+ immediately be'an a new, eMcitin' search for Jesus in the Bible. 2emember how Jesus tau'ht by usin' eMamples of physical thin's people understood, but ma!in' spiritual applications " he called them parables. n the 78th chapter of -atthew, for eMample, he told about a hidden treasure, a pearl of 'reat value, or a farmer sowin' seed, the wheat and thistles, and many others. He made the people an'ry because they couldn*t understand what he was tal!in' about " and he didn*t intend for them to !now because they hardened their hearts a'ainst him. The Holy %pirit of God reveals the hidden spiritual truths of these surface illustrations to those who believe. Jesus said in John 7:EA8E # will only reveal myself to those who love me and obey me.+ started at the be'innin' of the Bible and when reached Genesis AE<I7=, it seemed li!e suddenly bro!e throu'h the surface of the earth and saw a new world underneath the crust of the earth. t was li!e discoverin' the other worlds throu'h a A8

microscope, a 'lass bottom boat, and Bible stories. $s a child would ima'ine myself in the Bun'les of dar!est $frica, movin' throu'h the thic! under'rowth, hac!in' away the heavy folia'e with a machete !nife and suddenly reachin' a bi' openin' to come upon the ori'inal Garden of 3den " Bust li!e it was when $dam and 3ve lived there. This time discovered a spiritual world Bust below the crust of the physical world had previously admired so muchE #Then the 5ord God planted a 'arden in 3den, to the east and placed in the 'arden the man he had formed. The 5ord God planted all sorts of beautiful trees there in the 'arden, trees producin' the choicest of fruit. $t the center of the 'arden he placed the Tree of 5ife, and also the Tree of Conscience, 'ivin' !nowled'e of Good and Bad. $ river from the land of 3den flowed throu'h the 'arden to water it( afterwards the river divided into four branches.+ loo!ed for Jesus and found him! #The Tree of 5ife+ ri'ht in the middle of the perfect world God had created! $ tree is the source of life for the branches and leaves. Jesus is the source of our life " eternal life. 0ther descriptions of Jesus stored in my mind by the %pirit came into focusE Jesus saidE # am the /ay " yes, and the Truth and the 1ife. ,o one can 'et to the Father eMcept by means of me.+ John 7:E4. 5i!e a tree was the Kine " Jesus said in John 7HE7.<. # am the 2ine, and my Father is the Gardener. He lops off every -ranch that doesn*t produce. $nd he prunes those branches that bear A:

fruit for even lar'er crops. He has already tended you by prunin' you bac! for 'reater stren'th and usefulness by means of the commands 'ave you. Ta!e care to live in me, and let me live in you. For a branch can*t produce fruit when severed from the vine. ,or can you be fruitful apart from me. .es, am the Kine( you are the branches. /hoever lives in me and in him shall produce a lar'e crop of fruit. For apart from me you can*t do a thin'. f anyone separates from me, he is thrown away li!e a useless branch, withers, and is 'athered into a pile with all the others and burned. But if you stay in me and obey my commands, you may as! any reCuest you li!e, and it will be 'ranted! -y true disciples produce bountiful harvests. This brin's 'reat 'lory to my Father.+ Just as the Kine is the source of life, so is Jesus the source of life. Jesus is described as the 3root" of Jesse in saiah 7E7= and 2omans 7HE7A. Jesus, our source of eternal life, Fthe Tree of 5ifeG is ri'ht in the center of the abundant world " his 'arden of 3den!! Glory!!! $nd God even placed in the center of the 'arden the #Tree of Conscience, 'ivin' !nowled'e of Good and Bad.+ There was %atan, the sna!e, the source of everlastin' death, temptin' us with disobedience. God wants us to want him instead of %atan " his ways instead of our ways. 3ve was 'iven the choice of obedience and life Fin JesusG, or disobedience and death Fin %atanG. noticed in the spiritual Garden of 3den #The 5ord God had planted all sorts of beautiful trees there in the 'arden, trees producin' the choicest of AH

fruit.+ said, #God, what is the spiritual meanin' of all these other treesD+ His answer came from his recallin' into my mind many scripturesE Jesus said in John 7HEH Cuoted previously #whoever lives in me and in him shall produce a lar'e crop of fruit.+ &salms 7E8, spea!in' of those Fof usG who deli'ht in doin' everythin' God wants us to do, and day and ni'ht FweG are always meditatin' on his laws and thin!in' about ways to follow him more closely, 6avid saysE #They FweG are li!e trees alon' a river ban! bearin' luscious fruit each season without fail. Their leaves shall never wither, and all they do shall prosper.+ But then came God*s 'reat disappointment " He had to banish man forever from the Garden of 3den. The abundance God had provided as a free 'ift was lost " foreverDD God never wants to be away from His children " He created them to be his 'lory and to have fellowship with him. %oon God spo!e to $bram FGen. 7AE7:G #5eave your own country behind you, and your own people, and 'o to the land will 'uide you to. f you do, will cause you to become the father of a 'reat nation( will bless you and ma!e your name famous, and you will be a blessin' to many others.... %o $bram departed as the 5ord instructed him. . . .# This was God sayin', in effect " am promisin' you another land of abundance, the land of Canaan, another Garden of 3den " a land where mil! and honey flow, a land of plenty( and it*s a free 'ift. t*s all yours if you will obey me and will be the children can love and nourish " and #spoil+ with everythin' 'ood. A4

God allowed the children of srael in their centuries of Bourney to the #Holy 5and+ Canaan, to 'o into slavery in 3'ypt for :== years. This was God showin' what sin really is " slavery to an evil, harsh tas!master, %atan. Then, Bust as God promised, he sent -oses as their deliverer, their savior. The stru''les, pestilences and hardships were ma'nified when God chose &haraoh to be the obBect of the display of his 'lory and power. &haraoh*s last act was to send his vast, well eCuipped armies after the totally helpless children of srael. They were escapin' until they reached the 2ed %ea. /ith their bac!s to the sea, no way to fi'ht bac!, no way of escape, they became totally helpless and left to the mercy of an enemy who !new no mercy. How very li!e %atan and his evil punishment he 'ives in eMchan'e for man*s volunteerin' to serve him. %ounds Cuite foolish, doesn*t itD But God in his infinite mercy and 'race and love for his own, #made a way of escape. -oses, their savior, simply stretched out his hand over the sea( and the 5ord caused the sea to 'o bac! by a stron' east wind all that ni'ht, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.+ 3M. 7:EA7 t is interestin' to me that the pathway of escape was a narrow path throu'h the 0ed %ea. n the 0ld Testament temple in the Holy of Holies, the -ercy %eat was symbolic of the &resence of God, and the $r! of the Covenant was symbolic of Jesus. n the $r! of the Covenant were !ept the laws, Bust as in Jesus we find our new covenant. ,o one eMcept the Hi'h &riest could 'o into the Holy of Holies and he A9

could 'o in only once a year to ta!e blood as a sacrifice for for'iveness of sins. The people were !ept from 'oin' into the Holy of Holies, God*s &resence, by a thic! curtain, a veil. ,ow, Bust as a slit was made in the #2ed+ %ea for escape, so a slit was made in the side of Jesus for his #red+ blood to be shed for our cleansin' from sin. n Bust the way they pierced the side of Jesus, so was the curtain in the earthly temple split apart from top to bottom. ,otice the pathways of escape from sin( of entrance into the &resence of God " by the 2ed %ea( by the blood of Jesus( throu'h the split in the Temple curtain. $nd because Jesus became the /ay into the Jin'dom of Heaven, we can all 'o directly into the &resence of God, not separated by the veil of the temple, usin' the name of Jesus, our Hi'h &riest, as our admission. HalleluBah! 0nce the children of srael escaped from their slavery and were on the other side of the 2ed %ea, they could have discovered the Canaan land, their Garden of 3den, within a few days. They immediately be'an complainin', thin!in' of self. That*s why %atan was thrown out of heaven li!e a bolt of li'htnin' " he was thin!in' of himself( he wanted his way instead of God*s way. The sraelites made a ri'ht turn instead of a left and spent := years in the wilderness, because of disobedience. had spent 87 years in a dry, thirsty, defeated life, tryin' to be a Christian my way, but finally findin' my way into my Canaan 5and when 'ave $55 to Jesus. /hen the children of srael finally reached Canaan, it was a perfect #Garden of 3den,+ Bust as A<

God had promised. This was the abundance provided for his children. t was a free 'ift. God promised to destroy all the enemies in the land and 'ive it to his children. They had only to obey God and they, Bust li!e $dam and 3ve could forever live in this second beautiful 'arden of plenty. But Bust li!e $dam and 3ve " they were 'iven a commandment #For in the cities within the boundaries of the &romised 5and you are to save no one( destroy every livin' thin'. ... The purpose of this command is to prevent the people of the land from lurin' you into idol worship and into participation in their loathsome customs, thus sinnin' deeply a'ainst the 5ord your God.+ F6eut. A=E74I7<G 6o you !now what they didD They #nibbled in sin.+ They disobeyed God by preservin' Bust a few lives to ma!e their lives easier " +self+ a'ain. Just loo! at what God promisedE F6eut. A<E<I78G #he Lord will bless you with good crops and healthy cattle, and prosper e"erything you do when you arri"e in the land the Lord your (od is gi"ing you. 7e will change you into a holy people dedicated to himself; this he has promised to do if you will only obey him and walk in his ways. ll the nations in the world shall see that you belong to the Lord, and they will stand in awe. #he Lord will gi"e you an abundance of good things in the land, just as he promised& many children, many cattle, and abundant crops. will open to you his wonderful treasury of rain in the hea"ens to gi"e you fine crops e"ery season. 7e will bless e"erything you do; and you shall lend to A;

many nations, but shall not borrow from them. you will only listen and obey the commandments of the Lord your (od that % am gi"ing you today, he will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall always ha"e the upper hand. 9: each of these blessings depends on your not turning aside in any way from the laws % ha"e gi"en you; and you must ne"er worship other gods. But a'ain, Bust as with $dam and 3ve, they were banished from a land of abundance, and it was lost " foreverDD ,o, God continued to promise all he had ta!en away if they would only repent and turn from their wic!ed ways and obey his ways. #Come, let*s tal! this over* says the 5ordE no matter how deep the stain of your sins, can ta!e it out and ma!e you as clean as freshly fallen snow. 3ven if you are stained as red as crimson, can ma!e you white as wool! f you will only let me help you, if you will only obey, then will ma!e you rich! But if you !eep on turnin' your bac!s and refusin' to listen to me, you will be !illed by your enemies( , the 5ord, have spo!en.+ F sa. 7E7<IA=G Then God provided the third Garden of 3den for his children. Just as God had promised hundreds of years before, he sent Jesus, his only %on, to earth. God throu'h his prophets had told in eMact, intricate details, how to !now Jesus and what he would be li!e. Jesus said in John 7=E7=... . # am come that they mi'ht have life, and that they mi'ht have it more a-undantly." FJJKG

8=

O! WANTS US TO HA"# A B#AUTI$U%

H0-3 0F $B1,6$,C3!!! Three times he has offeredE 7. The Garden of 3den A. Canaan 5and 8. Jesus Jesus is the only way to abundance! $nd we can only reach the Jin'dom of God throu'hE The 2ed %ea Fthe hi'hway to freedomG His 2ed Blood " +Heaven can be entered only throu'h the narrow 'ate! The hi'hway to hell is broad, and its 'ate is wide enou'h for all the multitudes who choose its easy way. But the Gateway to 5ife is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it.+ F-att. 9E78I7:G Jesus said # am the (ay yes, and the Truth and the 5ife. ,o one can 'et to the Father eMcept by means of me.+ FJohn 7:E4G The /ay in is li!e a needle, a 'ate, a door, a hi'hwayE Jesus has a standin' invitation to usE #5oo!! have been standin' at the door and am constantly !noc!in'. f anyone hears me callin' him and opens the door, will come in and fellowship with him and he with me.+ F2ev. 8EA=G 0nly by bein' a child of God can we acCuire eternal abundance. /e still must ma!e our own effort to follow Jesus, an investment, to reach abundance in God*s Jin'dom. /e must want riches to find them in the business world and then act upon our desires to reach our 'oals. /e must ($)* God*s ways before we can even start toward his Jin'dom. /e must ($)* his ways so much that we are willin' to 87

completely eliminate and subordinate our desires in favor of his desires " at all times.

The World of Business

5et me share some of the instructions received from #Jesus+ which established the principles upon which based my business and spiritual Bourney to abundant livin' on earthE #$s!, and you will be 'iven what you as! for. %ee!, and you will find. Jnoc!, and the door will be opened. For everyone who as!s, receives. $nyone who see!s, finds, f only you will !noc!, the door will open. f a child as!s his father for a loaf of bread, will he be 'iven a stone insteadD f he as!s for fish, will he be 'iven a poisonous sna!eD 0f course not! $nd if you hardhearted, sinful men !now how to 'ive 'ood 'ifts to your children, won*t your Father in heaven even more certainly 'ive good gifts to those who as4 for them5" F-att. 9E9I7 7G /hat an openin' God has 'iven us to acCuire a vast fortune!! ,one of us li!e to be forced into a corner to where we are fi'htin' a'ainst forces opposite our way of doin' thin's. ,one of us li!e for others to #ma!e+ us do what they want. /e are independent and li!e our freedom to do as we please! God has a simple way of 'ivin' us that freedom at all times. 5oo! carefully at this scripture to discover the way to peace at all times, and sure success in everythin' you doE God said in Hebrews <E7= # will write my laws in their minds so that they will !now what N want them to do without my even tellin' them, and these 8A

laws will be in their hearts so that they will (ant to o-ey them, and will be their God and they shall be my people+ #$nd if under the old system the blood of bulls and 'oats and the ashes of youn' cows could cleanse men*s bodies from sin, Bust thin! how much more surely the blood of Christ will transform our lives and hearts. His sacrifice frees us from the worry of having to obey the old rules, and ma!es us want to serve the livin' God. For by the help of the eternal Holy %pirit, Christ willin'ly 'ave himself to God to die for our sins " he bein' perfect, without a sin'le sin or fault. Christ came with this new a'reement so that all who are invited may come and have forever all the wonders God has .romised them." FHeb. ;E78I7:G God never fails to carry out every detail of his promises. f we will carefully listen to his instructions for each assi'nment, ma!e notes in our hearts( then !eep our eyes on the end results, we will never fail to produce the ri'ht answer " and it can be written on our hearts. #/$,T36+ God more than anythin' else in all the world and all thin's combined. That day when said #God, ta!e all of my life and ma!e me spiritually what you want me to be,+ meant it with all my heart. had made up my mind to 'o all the way for God, no matter what it cost in earthly possessions. #5ove the 5ord your God, with all your heart, soul and mind.+ F-att. AAE89G t was God, by his Holy %pirit, helpin' me #/$,T+ him. #For God is at wor! within you, helpin' you want to obey him, and then helpin' you do what he wants. F&hil. AE78G # will put a desire 88

into their hearts to worship me, and they shall never leave me. will reBoice to do them 'ood and will replant them in this land, with 'reat Boy.+ FJer. 8AE:=G /hat landD $bundant land " Canaan! How can we please GodD 5et him bless us! How do we allow him to bless usD By blessin' him first! 2eco'niLe that he is God and wants his children to have full Boy and blessin's " abundance. Jesus and God both say often, in effect #trust me and obey me.+ /hat does it mean to #trust+ God and JesusD %imply believe they will do eMactly what they say they will if we meet the conditions. The basic condition is to 'ive them first place in our heart and not ma!e room for a second place. /hen Jesus was tal!in' in -atthew 4 about trustin' him for your needs, he concluded with #But your heavenly Father already !nows perfectly well that you need them, and he will 'ive them to you F .01 G K3 H - F 2%T &5$C3 , .012 5 F3 $,6 5 K3 $% H3 /$,T% .01 T0.+ Jin' 6avid, a man after God*s own heart saidE #For you are 'reat and do 'reat miracles. .ou alone are God. Tell me where you want me to 'o and will 'o there. -ay every fiber of my bein' unite in reverence to your name. /ith all my heart will praise you. will 'ive 'lory to your name forever, for you love me so much! .ou are constantly so !ind! .ou have rescued me from deepest hell.+ F&salms <4E7=I7 8G f we can reach that point of not wantin' what we thin! is best, but trustin' God because we !now his way is best, and then submittin' to him, we be'in a life which can be a perpetual Garden of 8:

3den in our business and spiritual life. -ary, perhaps made the most beautiful submission of all when she was told by the an'el that she, a vir'in, would be conceived by the Holy %pirit to become the mother of God*s %on, JesusE # am the 5ord*s servant, and am willin' to do whatever he wants.+ F5u!e 7E8<G /hen God told me to 'o into his /ord, and listen to no man and he would tell me what he wanted me to !now, wanted so much to obey him that my whole bein' yielded to his every word, and was willin' to say what -ary saidE # am yours, Father, and will do anythin' you want me to do!+ t was over those first several months of searchin' and submittin', see!in' and findin', his revealin' and my yieldin' that came upon that lost world " my Garden of 3den! found a Boy that lasted throu'h every situation( found a peace that nothin' could disturb( found a happiness that went on and on( found contentment in my life as had never !nown, love that 'rew li!e an overni'ht mushroom but lasted li!e a roc!! The abundance of Canaan has been my dwellin' place for about siM years now and love it " every eMcitin' second of it. The more learn about the vastness of this new world, the more eMcited 'et. HalleluBah!!! t*s a Bourney from 'lory to 'lory!!!!! #$nd he pointed out to me a river of pure /ater of 5ife, clear as crystal, flowin' from the throne of God and the 5amb, coursin' down the center of the main street. 0n each side of the river 'rew Trees of 5ife, bearin' twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop

8H

each month( the leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.+ F2ev. AAE7IAG Fresh, delicious fruit " all we can eat " an abundance of any and all !inds of fruit! Just as in the paradise of that heavenly city, so can we livin' on earth revel in the fruit provided in our Garden here on earth! /hen we are possessed by the spirit of Jesus and of God, we are heirs to the Jin'dom of God on earth. n this !in'dom we have an abundance of the fruit of the %pirit. #But when the Holy %pirit controls our lives he will produce this !ind of fruit in usE love, Boy, peace, patience, !indness, 'oodness, faithfulness, 'entleness and selfIcontrol( and here there is no conflict with Jewish laws.+ FGal. HEAAIA8G 2i'ht here on earth we can eat all we want of any of this fruit and never 'et too much and 'et sic!. /e can Bust stand on the river ban! at the tree bearin' #love+ and eat, and eat and eat. The Buices can Bust run out the sides of our mouth and the sweet nectar will 'et better and better and better! Then, full as we mi'ht seem, we can 'o ri'ht on to the tree bearin' the fruit of Boy! /e have the capacity to continue forever eatin' this fruit. The more of these !inds of fruit we eat, the more we become li!e them and no doctrinal laws separate us from the other members of the body of Christ Jesus. # f you are filled with li'ht within, with no dar! corners, then your face will be radiant too, as thou'h a floodli'ht is beamed upon you.+ F5u!e 77E84G From Genesis to 2evelation Jesus has made abundance available to us. 5oo! at the final victorious life in 2evelationE 84

AEA4 #To every one who overcomes " who to the very end !eeps on doin' thin's that please me " will 'ive power over the nation.+ 8EH #3veryone who conCuers will be clothed in white, and will not erase his name from the Boo! of 5ife, but will announce before my Father and his an'els that he is mine.+ 8E7A #$s for the one who conCuers, will ma!e him a pillar in the temple of my God( he will be secure, and will 'o out no more( and will write my God*s ,ame on him, and he will be a citiLen in the city of my God " the ,ew Jerusalem, comin' down from heaven from my God( and he will have my new ,ame inscribed upon him.+ 2ev. A7 #Then saw a new earth Fwith no oceansG and a new s!y, for the present earth and s!y had disappeared. $nd , John, saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, comin' down from God out of heaven, t was a 'lorious si'ht, beautiful as a bride at her weddin'. heard a loud shout from the throne sayin'. )5oo!, the home of God is now amon' men, and he will live with them and they will be his people( yes, God himself will be amon' them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor cryin', nor pain. $ll of this has 'one forever.+ /H$T $B1,6$,C3!!! /H$T $ G$263, 0F 363,!!! /H$T $ 5$,6 0F C$,$$,!!! /H$T $ J3%1%!!! /H$T $ G06!!!

89

n that city made of pure, transparent 'old li!e 'lass, a city 7H== miles in the form of a cube, our heavenly home, we a'ain find the Garden of 3den. #Blessed forever are all who are washin' their robes, to have the ri'ht to enter in throu'h the 'ates of that city, and to eat the fruit from the Tree of 5ife!!!!!+ F2ev. AAE7:G Just li!e the abundance 'iven to the first man, so is abundance 'iven to those who follow Jesus, the Tree of 5ife " the source and 'iver of abundance! $men! HalleluBah! &raise the 5ord! J3%1% % TH3 C3,T32 0F $B1,6$,C3! J3%1% %$.%, #C0-3, F0550/ -3!+

8<

TURN LOOSE! The Baptis with Fi!e

3ven as a youn' child had ambitions to succeed in life. -aybe they were daydreams, but daydreams can become real when determination and application are fused to'ether with discipline. &erhaps didn*t realiLe that when God ma!es a man, he molds him over a period of many years into the !ind of a person he wants him to be. %ince God created man, he must have created daydreams as part of his moldin' process. can see now in retrospect many instructions God 'ave me durin' my lifetime. didn*t !now they were from him. Father God, may now say than! you, and may 'ive you all the 'lory for preparin' my life to be a part of your !in'dom. 0ne hot day when was about thirteen, my sister, Frances, and were hoein' weeds from under our peach trees. Frances said she was 'oin' to either marry a man from 6enver or be an old maid. said was 'oin' to be a boo!!eeper and wor! in a cool office. didn*t !now what an accountant was, but that became my spo!en decision to follow that profession. -iracles often come into eMistence when the Holy %pirit spea!s For thin!sG into our mind and we spea! his thou'hts with our mouth. God says in the Bible that salvation is confirmed by tellin' others with your mouth the Good ,ews about trustin' Jesus F2omans 7=E7=G. became an accountant and Frances became a #youn'+ old maid before she married a man from 6enver. 8;

-y life be'an to unfold in two main directions. wanted reasonable success in business and wanted to serve God. -y attitudes be'an to develop and mold in a positive direction. wanted happiness and discovered very early that happiness is found where you are now, and what you are now. remember my mother tellin' my sisters that if you want to be a sweet old lady you must be a sweet youn' 'irl. -y coach in hi'h school, for whom had the very hi'hest respect and admiration, developed two deep vertical frown wrin!les between his eyebrows. determined never to have such wrin!les from frownin' " and haven*t. %omeone told me it too! 78 times more ener'y to frown than to smile, so developed a smilin' habit. $ttitudes are the inner person so strove to develop and use positive happy ones. $ll sins are bad attitudes. $ll relationships to God, to Jesus, to our fellowmen and to ourselves are attitudes. f God stored for'iven sin in a heavenly warehouse and filed them alphabetically, he would use only the letter #$+ " $ttitudes. 0f course, God buries for'iven sins in the deepest sea, never to be remembered a'ain. Ta!e murder, for eMample. The act of murder is an earthly violation of law, but it*s the attitudes of hate, resentment, and 'reed which we develop in our inner bein' which cause the outward sin. These are the violations of God*s laws of ri'ht and wron'. The application and development of God*s ways in our whole life " our thou'hts, our eMpressions, our actions, or reactions " lead to a life of happiness and success. 5ove must be the foundation upon which all positive attitudes :=

are built, and Jesus must be the cornerstone of the buildin'. was tal!in' to a successful youn' businessman recently who had found a form of peace in his business life. $ few years a'o his reaction to business pressures brou'ht him ulcers and nervous tension. t was his medical doctor who chan'ed his pattern of inner livin'. The doctor wisely counseled him to do his very best in everythin' he did, and then not worry about it. The youn' salesman clearly heard not only with his ears, but with his mind. $s he traveled between cities, he meditated on clearin' his mind of the attitudes of frustration, fear, worry, and ne'ative forces. He discovered a form of peace came to him which allowed contentment to miM with ambition. He discovered his wor! brou'ht 'reater success, his mind had peace and clarity, his body became healthy. That is fantastic! But real peace was Bust beyond where he was. He had not found the 'enuine peace that only comes when Jesus lives in you and wor!s throu'h you. $s tal!ed to him about Jesus, eMplained God made his laws at the very be'innin' of the creation of earth and man. God*s laws are always positive, and when we obey them we discover they wor! " even by nonIChristians. The only problem is that nonIChristians don*t !now how to apply these laws fully " this is revealed only by God*s Holy %pirit in you. The devil*s ways are always ne'ative and when applied in our lives, they brin' ne'ative results " bad results " frustration, worry, bitterness, an'er, and many others. These attitudes lead to eventual destruction of our minds, our bodies, and our spirits. :7

/ith positive determination be'an to develop leadership Cualities and constantly found myself in business and church Bobs bi''er than felt Cualified to do. 3ach time an opportunity came my way Bumped ri'ht in the middle of it and did the Bob accepted. t too! a lot of hard wor! and study. ,ever would accept anythin' with the attitude couldn*t do it. !new could if used my mind fully and my ener'ies freely. 5ife became an adventure of pursuit and enBoyed findin' each new step up the ladder to success and happiness. By the time was ei'hteen was youth leader in my denomination in local and state 'roups. 5ater was %unday school teacher, church treasurer, church host, member of the choir, and served on nearly every board and activity of the church. 0utwardly complete in my position, but in a way cannot describe, there was a void inside this ener'etic me. $ lot of people considered me one of the finest Christians they !new. $ctually, was spiritually a driedIup prune! -any thou'hts came into my searchin' mind and some left me with Bust a pastel shade of 'uilt. !now now the thou'hts came from God*s Holy %pirit, sayin' to selfIri'hteous Charles " +be ye holy as am holy.+ Charles !ept #almost+ thin!in' bac! to God " am holy and not really sinnin'. reminded God that not only had 'one to the altar to 'et #saved+ but had been there to 'et #sanctified,+ also. Bein' #sanctified+ was an eMperience had been tau'ht was for God to remove the root of sin so you could never sin a'ain. never really understood this. never found any real difference in my life :A

when was #sanctified+ eMcept my deepenin' mental commitment with a renewed determination to 'ive more of my life to God. t was really the Holy %pirit needed. tried to live without sinnin'. never really committed any bi' sins. .ou mi'ht say was a )sweet sinner.+ Bust couldn*t accept the doctrinal beliefs of some of my friends. remember one day 'ot so mad ar'uin' with them about how ri'ht was and how wron' they were. $s loo! bac! now can reco'niLe some of my sinsE the attitude of an'er FGal. HEA=G( ar'uin' scriptures F!eep out of foolish ar'uments " Tim. 4EA=G #criticism+ and #feelin' that everyone else is wron' eMcept those in your own little 'roup.+ FGal. HEA=G God established laws to let us see our sins, and then he sent Jesus to earth to cause us to #want+ to obey him, and to for'ive our sins. /hen was thirtyIfive an evan'elist led a revival in our church. 0ne ni'ht he preached a sermon on discipleship and the %pirit of God be'an to deal with me about my state of complacency Fof bein' lu!ewarmG and about 'ivin' all to God. This is what wanted and what needed. was on the bac! row of the choir. /e were sin'in' ) surrender all.+ Thou'hts be'an to 'o throu'h my mind about my shortcomin's. was approachin' a decision which could affect my whole life. -y thou'hts went somethin' li!e thisE #Father, *m already financially 'ivin' about 78? of my income " but if you want me to, will try to 'ive 787NA? or maybe 7:?. God, *m studyin' my %unday school lessons a lot, but *ll 'et up an hour earlier on %unday and study :8

more( Father, *ll visit my absentees more to ma!e my class 'row.+ 0ur pastor and a few members of the church had been to a retreat of an or'aniLation called #Camps Farthest 0ut.+ They came bac! really turned on and shared some of the thin's that went on. t seemed rather emotional to me " more than li!ed. was concerned that our church would maintain a di'nity where could invite even business friends without bein' embarrassed. They tal!ed about some sort of a silly little dance they did, called #devotions in motions.+ felt li!e they should come down from the clouds and 'et bac! to earth where they belon'ed. 'ot the feelin' they thou'ht they were better than me. *m sure if attended such a meetin' now would realiLe they were very close to God and were really blessed by his &resence Fand were better than G. realiLed that if 'ave everythin' to God, he would do somethin' different with me. !new would have to obey whatever he said. God !nows how to find the unsurrendered part of our lives. *m sure he was the one who put the neMt thou'hts into my mind. #/hat would do if had to 'o to one of those retreats where mi'ht 'et emotional and be involved in that silly danceD That seemed li!e a counterfeit act to me.+ said in my thou'ht, #God, *d even do that if you wanted me to.+ Then, with God still 'oin' deeper into my heart, thou'htE #Jeanne Fmy wife then, now deceasedG is more a'ainst that !ind of )artificial* emotionalism than am. f *m active she won*t 'o alon' with me! This

::

will ma!e her real unhappy!+ didn*t want that to happen! %o Bust turned off my thou'hts!!! /hat had done! !new the first commandment was #Thou shalt put no other 'ods before me.+ had, by refusin' to put God before the desires of my wife, placed her as a 'od before the only true God. For about twelve more years God left me in the desert of defeat in my Christian life. continued to wor! hard for my church all those years, but bein' a carnal #Christian+ is not too pleasant. Finally in early 7;4< we chan'ed to a lar'e, new church with about 8:== members. /e had always attended a small church. /e Boined the fantastic choir and soon were settled in a whole new environment. /e found love and friendliness amon' the pastors and con're'ation. Jeanne rather suddenly developed a lar'e tumor which ultimately led to her death from cancer. /e did not suspect cancer at that time and felt an operation would solve the problem with no 'reat dan'er. ,either of us was concerned. Then God really be'an to move in the spiritual part of my life! t happened in -ay of 7;4<. There was no 'reat sermon " ,o son' of surrenderin' all " ,o emotions! $ small 'roup of men of the church had met, as we did wee!ly at 4E:H, for coffee, doInuts and chatter about sports and other events of common interest. /e went into the sanctuary of the church where one of the men 'ave a short devotional tal!, then we went to the altar of the church where we silently prayed before 'oin' to our various trades and professions. li!ed this plan of men startin' their day with their minds on God. This :H

particular day seemed no different than any of our other meetin's, and probably wasn*t to anyone else, but it was to me! $s wal!ed the few steps to the altar there was a tremendous drawin' to God li!e a powerful heavenly ma'net! t reminded me of the manned roc!et we had sent to the moon, but which had malfunctioned. There was 'reat concern that it would not successfully return to the earth, and that the astronauts would be lost. /hen it was near the halfI way point between the moon and earth, it was movin' at a comparatively slow speed. Then it be'an to move into the powerful 'ravity pull of the earth. ts speed increased the closer to earth it came and finally at about AH,=== miles per hour it burst into the earth*s atmosphere and they were home safe!! $s !nelt to pray, with no one !nowin' my heart eMcept God and me, silently cried out to GodE #Ta!e all of my life and ma!e me spiritually what you want me to be. Ta!e all of Jeanne*s life spiritually and ma!e her the person you want her to be.+ continued prayin' " and a new thou'ht came into my mindE #3ven if you have to ta!e her life physically!+ meant every word! /hen said it turned loose of Charles Hunter. .ou would be absolutely amaLed at what God did in my life the neMt four months! ,0TH ,G* went about my business life and church life Bust as always had. as!ed God to ta!e all of my life " not Bust a little more of my money, a little more of my time, or more of my abilities. as!ed :4

him to ta!e it all, with no terms or conditions on my part. didn*t try to tell him what would do( waited for him to tell me! $bout four months later God 'ave me my first instructions. How vividly clear he said #Go into my /ord and listen to no man, and let me tell you what want you to !now.+ don*t even remember how he spo!e, but vividly remember what he said. $s pic!ed up my Bible, a 2evised %tandard Kersion, simply said to God, #Tell me what you want me to !now and *ll do anythin' you say.+ Thus be'an a transformin' period of my life! had such a burnin' desire to receive his instructions that spent every minute could ma!e available, ni'ht and day, readin' the Bible. f wo!e up at 8E== o*cloc! in the mornin' 'ot up and read as lon' as could stay awa!e. /ithin one year had meditated in God*s /ord more than A,=== searchin' hours. 3ach minute was a personal tal! with God. $s he revealed to me, yielded to him! He chan'ed my attitudes, my desires, my whole purpose in life! no lon'er wanted anythin' eMcept to follow Jesus! $lways before had read the Bible for two reasons. 0ne was to learn the Bible so could teach my %unday school pupils all that !new. 5ater discovered God said, #%ee! me and you will find me.+ He is /isdom and Jnowled'e. The other way used to read was with a #thousand+ critical fin'ers pointed to other people, provin' to my satisfaction with scripture that their reli'ion was wron'. could pic! apart Bust about anyone in our church to prove they were not what thou'ht they should be. But when God told, me to 'o into his /ord and listen to :9

no man so he could tell me what he wanted me to !now, felt one 'reat bi' fin'er of love pointin' strai'ht at me! ,o lon'er did read the Bible critically. t was Bust God tal!in' hour after hour to a son he loved. paid no attention to other people who lived now or who had lived when the Bible was written. only wanted to !now all he wanted me to !now, and only wanted to do what he wanted me to do! be'an to see God*s 'lory and his wonderful wisdom. He be'an doin' many little miracles in my life as shared daily at every opportunity what he had done. God*s abidin' &resence and constant personal attention to every tiny detail of my life had become a reality, and loved every minute of it! 0ne %aturday while Jeanne was sic! as sat in the hospital readin' the Bible, came to the 7:th chapter of 5u!e, the AHth throu'h the 88rd verses. $s read these verses felt Jesus was sayin' somethin' to me that didn*t fully comprehend.! read it a'ain and still felt there was somethin' more. $ll day lon' for perhaps over ei'ht hours searched those nine verses. $s read, #if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple,+ said, # don*t understand what you mean when you say must hate all those you mention in order to be your disciple.+ said, #Jesus, you have no hate within you and God has no hate( !now you don*t want me to hate anyone, so what do you meanD+ searched for the meanin' of the A9th verse, #/hoever does not bear his own cross and come :<

after me, cannot be my disciple.+ Then he tal!ed about countin' the cost before buildin' a tower. The depth of the meanin' of the last of these verses didn*t seem to reach me where he tal!ed about a !in' as!in' for peace instead of 'oin' into a war he mi'ht lose, and then sayin', #%o, therefore, whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.+ said, #Jesus, have 'iven you everythin' !now to 'ive, and don*t care what happens " Bust want to be yours!+ $fter hours of searchin' finally went to sleep, still not satisfied. The neMt mornin' was %unday and could read all day. started by sayin', #Jesus, Bust couldn*t understand the 7:th chapter so *ll read on(+ $s read the first two or three lines, there was such a drawin' bac! to the 7:th chapter that couldn*t 'o on. $'ain said, #&lease tell me what you mean.+ $s read it a'ain, his answers became clear. $s loo!ed at verse A9 it became obvious that Bust as Jesus volunteered to carry his own cross to his death for us, so we must be willin' to die to ourselves and our own desires for him. &aul said, # t is not who live, but Christ who lives within me.+ n countin' the cost !new that no matter what my clients, staff, or friends thou'ht about me, had to do what God wanted me to do! 0nce made the choice to meet the conditions Jesus made for discipleship, must never turn bac!, even f lost all had " wife, business, home. Jesus placed the decision sCuarely and clearly in front of me " all or nothin'. He said that the 'reatest distance of anythin' on earth is the distance between hate and :;

love. He made me aware that all those people he named were people loved most. priLed them more than all else on earth. Jesus, spea!in' to me by the Holy %pirit, simply said, #if you really want to follow me all the way, you must put your love for me as much above those you love the most, as the distance is between hate and love. 0nly then can have first place in your life.+ The instant reaction from my whole heart was, #.es, Jesus, love you that much, and want to 'ive all. want to be your disciple!+ remember as a child was so impressed with Jesus as he wal!ed up to -atthew or &eter or James and croo!ed his fin'er at them sayin' simply #F0550/ -3.+ n my youn' heart wished could have lived bac! then so he could have as!ed me to follow him. How would have loved that! even wished would have been with him as he chose his disciples, as each one stopped what they were doin' and moved Cuic!ly with him as he Bust spo!e #follow me.+ 5ittle did realiLe that Jesus still #croo!s+ his fin'er, wantin' us to follow him. Jesus lived in a human body called Jesus A,=== years a'o. Today he lives in the bodies of ordinary people who will 'ive all to follow him as disciples. That %unday mornin' Jesus #croo!ed+ his fin'er to say, #Charles, F0550/ -3,+ Bust as clearly as he said it to &eter and the other disciples. had no idea, no concept, of what he had planned for my life. only !new had to follow him!

H=

"ESUS DON#T Spo$so! No Flops

The abundance of God*s promise in -alachi 8E7= to open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessin' so 'reat wouldn*t have room enou'h to ta!e it in, has been bountifully fulfilled in my business life as well as my personal life. t*s li!e a never ceasin' river pourin' abundance from the windows of heaven. t*s the !ind of blessin's that provide all there is to life on earth and in heaven. God himself offered this " he doesn*t lie. He said try it! 5et me prove it to you! He has! -y business motivation upon acceptin' the condition Jesus made for discipleship and the provision of abundant life on earth with him, was to listen for instructions from Jesus on how to conduct my accountin' practice. wanted only to trust him and obey him. That*s all! 5et me mention a'ain as did in &.T.5.$. " &2$ %3 TH3 5026 $,./$., about the %pirit of God spea!in' to me. had as!ed God for a little miracle one ni'ht when his %pirit spo!e in very distinct, silent words, #Charles, let me do this my way!+ %till another few minutes passed when prayed for somethin' else and a'ain he said #Charles, let me do this my way!+ Three times he said the same thin'. thou'ht he was referrin' to the condition of Jeanne. had prayed for months for healin', but he was not spea!in' only of that! He was tal!in' about everythin' in my life, includin' my business. H7

Jeanne had become very wea! and needed more and more of my time. /hen wo!e up on the mornin' of 6ecember 7=, 7;4<, !new that was to 'ive her desires and needs top priority over my business. *m sure now it was God movin' toward providin' for my clients and for me in the plan he was to carry out in my life. -y mind was clearly and peacefully settled by early mornin' that this would be carried out at any cost. 5et me ta!e you bac! to the be'innin' of my business life to show you how God was 'uidin' me, even then. never once veered from my decision at a'e 78 to be an accountant. wor!ed for an oil company, later a lar'e consultin' en'ineerin' firm, then into the 1.%. $ir Force, and followin' that, bac! with the en'ineerin' firm. -y formal accountin' education was spread over several years, but shortly after it was completed, passed the state eMamination and became a Certified &ublic $ccountant. Just prior to ta!in' the eMamination had been recalled into the $ir Force for twentyIone months. 6urin' that tour of military duty, much of which was spent in 3n'land, considered three alternatives for my accountin' careerE 7. a lar'e national C&$ firm( A. a maBor oil company( or 8.... could start an accountin' practice with a C&$ friend Fwe had discussed this possibilityG. t seemed at the time that my ima'ination mi'ht have been runnin' a little wild, because thou'ht #suppose start my own practice as soon as leave the $ir Force and my very first client is the mayor of Houston.+ had no idea who the mayor of HA

Houston was, but !new he must be successful because Houston is bi' and bein' mayor is bi' business. /ould you believe that within a few days after returned to Houston, became a partner with my friend and our first client . . . the mayor of Houston! The very interestin' thin' about this is that the mayor became my lar'est client and has been for over A= years. $lmost all of my wor! now is for this same family client! 0ur practice be'an in two small office rooms in a downtown buildin'. $bout a year later we mer'ed our practice with another small practice and became a partner with two other C&$s. This new firm conducted its practice in a residence converted into an office. /e later built a small office buildin' for our 'rowin' practice. t was at this time that Jesus became a livin' reality in my life. $ few months before Jeanne*s illness be'an, we had decided we should enlar'e our partnership by addin' a youn' man and train him to become a partner to relieve us of our overload. This was accomplished by brin'in' into the firm a youn' man A4 years of a'e. Charlie fit our specifications perfectly. /e brou'ht him into the firm with the promise of a partnership position. /ithin a few months after Charlie came with us, he introduced us to his brotherIinIlaw, 6ic!, a C&$ 8= years of a'e. /e offered 6ic! a position with the firm to become a partner after a trial period. He wanted to enter a practice as a partner, but felt we mi'ht be restricted in reachin' lar'e new clients because of our location. He declined our offer, much to our disappointment. H8

%oon after that one of our clients told us that she was movin' to the eMcitin' new AA story &ost 0a! Tower buildin' in the eMclusive Galleria shoppin' center. This was the heart of a lar'e new commercial compleM !nown as the ma'ic mile circle. /e investi'ated movin' there. /e were drawn by the belief that we would be able to enhance the stature of our practice by bein' in the new environment. /e made the decision to move as soon as the buildin' was completed, early the neMt year. Charlie, very eMcited, had related our move to 6ic! and showed him the beautiful brochures of the new home for our business. Then came the mornin' of 6ecember 7=, 7;4<, when decided to 'ive my first priority to Jeanne because of her illness. By 7= o*cloc! in God*s wonderful timin', within two or three hours after this decision was made, received word from 6ic! that he would li!e to tal! to us a'ain about Boinin' our firm! /hen God instructs, he provides a way! #Before they call, will answer( and while they are yet spea!in', will hear.+ F saiah 4HEA:G FThat*s speed!G 6ic! had seen in our planned move the one missin' in'redient in our firm, and decided to Boin us. /e were very pleased! He resi'ned his position with the national C&$ firm for whom he had wor!ed about three years. His eMcellent eMperience in their income taM department made him a tremendously valuable addition to our firm. Jnowin' needed to be free of wor! durin' Jeanne*s illness, be'an shiftin' full responsibility of client*s taM wor! and other financial H:

responsibilities to 6ic! and Charlie. There was little time for trainin' or eMplanations. They actually assumed about ;= percent of my wor! immediately. -any of the clients had told me in past years never to send someone else to do their wor!. They wanted me to do it because had become li!e one of their family and !new what they needed and was always enthusiastically willin' and anMious to please them. t would have been very difficult under normal circumstances to transfer client responsibility Cuic!ly and completely to anyone else. didn*t realiLe how God was brin'in' about a future arran'ement in a peaceful, orderly way by usin' what seemed to be an adverse condition in sic!ness. ,ot only was he ma!in' it possible for me to be off wor!, but he was establishin' a permanent release for me. love the way he does two or more miracles at a time. God*s wisdom is so phenomenal! t*s thrillin' to realiLe he !nows everythin' about everyone that has happened, that is happenin', or that will happen. He, throu'h Jesus, is in complete control of everythin' and brin's about anythin' he wants to in his own perfect way. $ctually Jesus is the mana'er of the universe and every detail that ta!es place in it. #$nd you FGodG have put him FJesusG in complete char'e of everythin' there is.* ,othin' is left out+ FHebrews 7E<G can see plainly now how he so beautifully transferred a maBor portion of my wor! to 6ic! and Charlie and yet very adeCuately !ept my clients happy. The neMt time God instructed me was shortly before Jeanne*s death when he told me to cut down HH

to oneIhalt time in my accountin' practice. $'ain don*t !now how he spo!e, eMcept !new without a doubt he told me to do it. %o sure was of his instructions that soon after Jeanne*s death be'an puttin' his command into effect. /hen he said to cut my time could have said #But God, how can ta!e care of my clients when *m already wor!in' overtime and have difficulty in !eepin' up with the wor!IloadD+ 0r #How can ma!e a livin' by reducin' my income that muchD+ 0r #God, what do you want to do with that much timeD+ But l didn*t say any of these thin's or even thin! of the conseCuences or reasons. Bust obeyed God! Faith is not so much believin' for miracles as it is !nowin' you have correctly heard God. Jesus said #-y sheep hear my voice, and !now them, and they follow me.+ FJohn 7=EA9G FJJKG # f you want me to protect you, you must learn to believe what say.+ F saiah 9E;G %imply by !nowin', without a doubt, that heard the instructions 'iven by God*s Holy %pirit called a special meetin' of my partners and staff. told them God had told me to cut down to oneIhalf time in my part of the C&$ practice. He didn*t say what he wanted me to do. said felt he wanted us to brin' into the firm as future partners some youn' men, the very best in the accountin' profession. They had to be eMperienced enou'h to carry the load of a partner, have a de'ree in accountin', either be a C&$ or be one soon. /e selected a minimum a'e of thirtyIfive. felt we should pay whatever it cost to 'et the very best. There was no Cuestion raised H4

about this arran'ement. $ll concurred. /hen God 'ives instructions he also prepares the minds of all those concerned, whether or not they are servin' him. %ome of my partners and staff were servin' Jesus and some were not. /e as!ed 6ic! and Charlie to tal! to their friends about Boinin' our firm so we could eMpand our partnership by addin' two more youn' men. /e needed someone to ta!e char'e of our audit practice and another partner with heavy eMperience in taMes, but also capable of servin' in any capacity needed. 6urin' the neMt few wee!s we interviewed several youn' men for the positions. nstead of bein' thirtyIfive, they were all thirty. They all had colle'e de'rees, maBorin' in accountin', were C&$*s, had almost identical eMperiences, and were all seemin'ly perfect for our needs. They came oneI byIone, or maybe two at the same time. 2eferences were chec!ed and everythin' seemed ideal for each one to Boin our firm. /e offered them a partnership position after a trial period. The youn' men each felt this would fulfill their desires to be in a 'rowin' firm as a part owner. had eMplained to each applicant durin' the interview that God had told me to cut my time in half and didn*t !now what he was preparin' me to do but they were a part of that preparation. $fter the partnership offer was made to each, told them that God was puttin' to'ether a C&$ firm( that if he chose them to be a part of it they would be. also as!ed God to bloc! them if he didn*t want them in the company. 0n that condition H9

arran'ements were made for them to 'ive adeCuate notices to their employers and then come to wor! with us. $maLin'ly, one by one they called bac! within a wee! or so to tell us they couldn*t come for one reason or another. 3ither they received a better position where they were, a better offer was presented somewhere else, or some other opportunity they preferred opened to them. 3ach time than!ed Jesus because he had made it so plain that he was selectin' the partners. Finally Gerald came with us. 3ven at thirty he had over four and a half years eMperience as an auditor with a national C&$ firm. He had been rapidly advanced into a supervisory position with them. He was eMactly the one we needed and is so fantastic that he is one of the finest auditors in the C&$ profession. Then came 6an. 6an has a very )mod* loo!, and is sophisticated. He 'raduated summa cum laude from Baylor 1niversity with a master*s de'ree in accountin'. He had been with one of the national C&$ firms over three years and was rapidly bein' promoted. He is a C&$. His taM !nowled'e and eMperience far surpassed his years. His mind is so brilliant and fast that am amaLed how he can 'rasp with accurate decisiveness the compleM meanin' of taM laws. This completed the firm as we supposed it would be with four youn' men added to the three eMistin' partners, plus our staff. -y clientele was well diversified " doctors, lawyers, en'ineers, men successful in the buildin' H<

business, machine wor!, stoc!s, real estate, colle'es and universities, and other commercial and industrial fields. These clients ran'ed from very small businesses up to the millionaire industrialists, from atheists to reli'ious fanatics. For these several months as wor!ed with each one shared with them in business conferences, private offices, shops or over a cup of coffee that God had told me to cut my part of the wor! to oneIhalf. told them didn*t !now what he wanted me to do, but that we were brin'in' into the firm youn' men who would be wor!in' with them. eMplained that we were brin'in' in the best youn' men we could find in the C&$ profession and that would be available when needed. God*s %pirit wal!ed before me to each one of these clients and not a sin'le one had any reluctance. This had all been accomplished before the end of 7;4;. n 0ctober, 7;4; Frances was brou'ht into my life and on January 7, 7;9= at 7AE=7 $.-. we were married. The eMcitement of our romance and the interwoven series of miracles of God doin' supernatural en'ineerin' to reconstruct our lives into his plan is told in detail in our boo! #-. 50K3 $FF$ 2 / TH CH$253%.+ This boo! is uniCue in that we were sharin' little #miracles in pro'ress.+ /e had written letters sharin' the be'innin' of miracles, the end bein' un!nown to us at the time. .et because God was tellin' us what to do and say, the end of the miracles tied in perfectly with their be'innin' as the plot unfolded. The simple total trust of two people bein' fused to'ether first in spirit and then in flesh was the #Bi'+ miracle H;

where God did it all. .et it was after the weddin', durin' those first months, that the real miracles flooded our lives. $ctually, every life should be and can be totally controlled by God throu'h Jesus. This is the #normal+ way we should live. t ta!es see!in' and releasin' to learn to #hear+ him spea! and then it ta!es a willin'ness to obey whatever he says. Frances traveled on spea!in' en'a'ements about half of the first siM months of our marria'e. /e !new before we were married that God had 'iven her this assi'nment and we were completely willin', even thou'h our hearts cried as we so freCuently were separated. would have opportunities to travel with her occasionally. By the end of the 7;9= income taM season was 'oin' with her a little more often and sharin' the love of God a little more in her public meetin's. $ctually we disre'arded the financial cost of my travel eMpenses, contributin' our personal funds to pay the cost. By the end of 7;9=, we had to put OH,=== into the ministry to brea! even but we were completely sure God intended us to minister to'ether. He assured us that we could trust him completely to provide all our needs, but he reCuired us to invest first. This principle is tau'ht throu'hout the ,ew Testament. 5u!e 4E8< says it so plainlyE # f you 'ive, you will 'et.+ Throu'h 7;97 we were invited as a team more and more, and God demonstrated his approval by payin' all our eMpenses and 'ivin' bac! the OH,===. /e praise him for continuin' to provide our livin' outside the evan'elistic ministry. To date we have not used one cent of the ministry money for our 4=

livin'. /e understand somewhat the liberty this 'ave &aul who wor!ed in a secular Bob to pay his way while he preached. This be'an to ta!e me away from the C&$ office more and more. God was be'innin' to use part of the oneIhalf time he told me he wanted. had been a partner in this C&$ firm for about A= years and enBoyed a beautiful business relationship with my partners. f a conflict of interests arose we simply discussed it and a'reed on a solution and moved forward with 'reat smoothness. -y oldest partner, nearly fifteen years my senior, had spent a lon' lifetime in public accountin' as a hi'hly respected, successful business man. His business Bud'ment and inte'rity was a valuable asset to the clients he served. He !new accountin' principles, taM law and other financial matters thorou'hly and had always hi'hly pleased his clients. He was more than a business associate to me " he was, and is, a personal friend hi'hly re'ard. But, into our business family now came four ener'etic, ambitious youn' men, freshly inoculated with 'ood colle'e education and a lot of accountin' theory. This was well seasoned by the eMperience they had in lar'e C&$ firms where new ideas and formats were bein' developed constantly. The accountin' profession, especially in the audit field, was bein' nationally chan'ed to meet the responsibilities bein' entrusted to and thrust upon the C&$*s by ban!ers, mort'a'e companies and others who relied upon C&$*s for their safe'uard in 47

the money mar!et. They assumed their roles as partners and did everythin' possible to carry out the trust placed in them when they became Certified &ublic $ccountants. /e #old timers+ also were very conscientious and eCually concerned that we fulfill all professional standards but youn' minds and those more seasoned don*t always do thin's ali!e, even thou'h the ultimate results are accomplished. /e dili'ently wor!ed on ideas advanced by the youn' partners to upI'rade and moderniLe, if necessary or desirable, our accountin' reports, policies, and procedures. By lon' hours of wor!, discussions, analyLin', scrutiniLin', criticiLin', le'aliLin', we would come up with a new format or policy( 'enerally after compromisin' our habits to meet the new ideas proposed. Technically, at this time we three older partners had final authority in the firm on any decision. $fter somethin' had been a'reed upon, often would leave town for a few days on a spea!in' tour and leave all of my part of the company affairs in the hands of the youn' men. /hile was away there were occasions when the other two senior partners would 'et to thin!in' about the chan'es a'reed upon, and decide without further discussion, to 'o bac! to our #old way+ of doin' it. This had a tendency to irritate and discoura'e the a''ressive youn' men, to say the least! /hen returned they would tell me what happened and then somewhat in despair affirm that they had no voice in the business matters. The more traveled, the worse this 'ot until it be'an to be a very serious problem. They were 4A

even hintin' that they were not willin' to continue with these friction conditions of overridin' decisions previously a'reed upon. %omethin' had to 'ive! God 'enerally wor!s with his created man in ways normal to the man. /e are doin' on earth the thin's we are doin' because God made it so and he was pleased. God also never ma!es a mista!e and his plans are intricately, precisely bein' carried out ri'ht on time. The sun rises so precisely on time that its eMact second can be determined thousands of years in advance. $nd so it is with his plans for our lives " he !new lon' a'o Bust what he would be doin' with the life of Charles Hunter, yet in his neverImista!en wisdom he did not force me to serve him. don*t understand it, but don*t Cuestion my 'reat, wonderful, perfect God " nor his way of doin' his wor!. love you, Father! Jesus actually chooses us " we don*t choose him. Jesus said #.ou didn*t choose me! chose you. appointed you to 'o and produce lovely fruit always, so that no matter what you as! for from the Father, usin' my name, he will 'ive it to you. demand that you love each other, for you 'et enou'h hate from the world! But then it hated me before it hated you. The world would love you if you belon'ed to it( but you don*t for chose you to come out of the world, and so it hates you.+ FJohn 7HE74I7;G %o that we can better understand what seemed li!e turmoil in this livin' story, and so that we do not have a tendency to point a fin'er at anyone sayin' #loo! " he*s the bad 'uy, the villain,+ want to share a Bible story familiar to almost everyone. 48

This special meanin' came beautifully, clearly into focus in a very disruptive period in my life. -aybe you can use it in your life, too, to be better able to 'ive 'lory to God and to Jesus when thin's seem to 'o wron'. t also helped me to better understand that often Cuoted, little believed scripture in 2omans <EA< F, KG #$nd we !now that in all thin's God wor!s for the 'ood of those who love him, who have been called accordin' to his purpose. For those God fore!new he also predestined to be conformed to the li!eness of his son, that he mi'ht be the firstborn amon' many brothers. $nd those he predestined, he also called( those he called, he also Bustified( those he Bustified, he also 'lorified.+ want to share a little of the story of Joseph, the eleventh of twelve sons of Jacob as told in the Bible fully in Genesis, Chapters 89IH=. used to love little Joseph, but hated his mean brothers because they did such awful thin's to him. -aybe felt a closeness because had two bi' brothers who sometimes pic!ed on me. FThe 'ood thin's they did far outshined the bad.G Jacob was a devout man of God, chosen by God to fill his place in God*s plan for his people. He was blessed in this position by much wealth as well as by a lar'e family. n those days the father was the head of the family, even of 'rown, married sons. They operated as a business and were a separate unit of their community, wor!in' to'ether tendin' sheep, cattle and ta!in' care of their possessions. God had a plan to carry out which would ta!e many years. He chose to use the normal ways of man to implement this plan, but to cause situations 4:

to happen by his own power, as he wanted them to occur. That is a fantastic ability of not only fore!nowled'e, but of his absolute control of everythin', even %atan, to ma!e events happen as he wants them to happen, when he wants them to happen, to accomplish his desires. How simple it can be to serve a God whom we can trust to do all these thin's " Bust for us* &raise you, Father! Joseph was Jacob*s most loved son. This caused the other brothers to be envious. This Bealousy flared up even more when Jacob 'ave Joseph a beautiful coat of many colors, and envy 'rew into bitterness. %ome of the brothers did somethin' wron' one day and Joseph told his father of their evil conduct. This further irritated them and their bitterness 'rew into hatred. #/hen tempted, no one should say, )God is temptin' me.* For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone( but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dra''ed away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (James 1:13-15 NIV) Because of this hate, the brothers decided to kill him; but instead a profitable deal seemed better and they sold their brother into slavery. He was taken into Egypt to become first a slave of an army officer, then a prisoner, then finally into Pharaohs palace where he became the richest, most powerful man in all Egypt, except Pharaoh. God used a dream of Pharaoh to place Joseph in this exalted position, and used the fulfillment of the same dream to bring seven years of plenty followed by seven years of 4H

famine in not only Egypt, but also in Canaan where Josephs family lived. Through famine and hunger Josephs brothers, who committed the horrible sin of selling him into slavery and deceiving their father, were brought before him. Joseph put his silver cup and money into their grain sacks to establish enough evidence against them to put them to death, and he had the power to do this. The brothers knew their lives were in danger. But Joseph loved his family. After they had bowed before him, Joseph revealed who he was and it really shocked them. Not only did he have power to take their lives, he had by human standards good reasons to do so. % am Joseph6* he said to his brothers. %s my father still ali"e'* !ut his brothers couldn)t say a word, they were so stunned with surprise. ;ome o"er here,* he said. 3o they came closer. nd he said again, % am Joseph, your brother whom you sold into ,gypt6 !ut don)t be angry with yoursel"es that you did this to me, for (od did it6 7e sent me here ahead of you to preser"e your li"es.* <(enesis :=&>?=@ $fter all my years of hatin' these brothers and seein' the horrible thin's they did, suddenly discovered it was not their evil ways( it was God*s way of placin' Joseph in a position to save their lives. How thrilled was to have the %pirit of God put a spotli'ht on the real meanin' of that storyE # am Joseph, your brother whom you sold into 3'ypt! But don*t be an'ry with yourselves that you did this to me, For God did it, He sent me here ahead of you to .reserve your lives." Jesus upIdated this 44

story when he said in -atthew 7=E8; # f you clin' to your life, you will lose it( but if you 'ive it up for me, you will save it.+ %ometimes we don*t understand God*s ways of doin' thin's but he is always ri'ht, and always loo!s out for those who love him. This one thin' !new, had fully 'iven him my life, my home, my business " my everythin'. didn*t understand at the time it was happenin', and *m sure my partners didn*t understand either. ,ow see the wonderful lifeIlosin', lifeIsavin' business upheaval God did to put me Fand perhaps themG where he wanted me to be. ,ow am where Jesus wants me to be " a plan he had lon' a'o! $lthou'h at the time we were 'oin' throu'h this my human body and mind too! some shoc!in' blows, still some way !new God was in complete char'e. had peace when turmoil eMisted( had security when my earthly security seemed to be in Beopardy( had assurance was flowin' in the will and way of God when to others Fand to meG at times what was happenin' loo!ed li!e was a traitor to my senior partner. He was approachin' a time when he wanted to retire, or be able to if necessary. $ si'nificant part of this security throu'h the continuation of the business was about to be ta!en away. This bothered me 'reatly at the time because he had been 'ood to me in my hour of need, and now would be able to perform in his hour of needD But God was 'ivin' the instructions and was hearin' them and obeyin' them, even when my own feelin's of ri'ht conflicted with the drawin' of the 49

%pirit of God. had all the security would ever need( my income was twice what ever dreamed it would be. had a beautiful home. loved my clients. was very happy in my business and really there was no reason to chan'e. f the youn' men couldn*t adBust to our way of doin' thin's, !new could find others to help me and could continue in the beautiful, successful way it had been for many years. But realiLed there was a drawin' by God to !eep wal!in' one step at a time to where he was ta!in' me " and didn*t care where that was. Bust wanted to follow Jesus wherever he wanted me to 'o. &aul used an eMpression in $cts A=EAAIA: which perhaps describes what was happenin' to meE #$nd now am 'oin' to Jerusalem, drawn there irresisti-ly -y the Holy .irit, not 4nowing what awaits me, e6ce.t that the Holy .irit has told me in city after city that Bail and sufferin' lie ahead. But life is worth nothin' unless use it for doin' the wor! assi'ned me by the 5ord Jesus " the wor! of tellin' others the Good ,ews about God*s mi'hty !indness and love.+ ,ow, let*s 'o on with the story of the accountin' business " and see what God can do as we are led by his Holy %pirit. $nother problem be'innin' to mushroom was how my compensation could be adBusted fairly when was more and more away on tours. /hat seemed fair to me didn*t seem fair to my partners, and vice versa. &roblems !ept rearin' their u'ly heads li!e sna!es for us to try to stomp to death, but !new 4<

God had said to cut my time to oneIhalf and Jesus had said #Follow -e.+ !new somehow, but !new not how, that Jesus would solve these problems. &aul said in Col. AE4 #$nd now Bust as you trusted Christ to save you, trust him, too, for each day*s problems( live in vital union with him.+ Followin' several s!irmishes between the youn' men and my other partners returned from a len'thy tour and the #!ettle was boilin'.+ The youn' men said they had to tal! to me ri'ht away, so we set an evenin' conference. They reiterated the problems of wantin' to chan'e to new procedures and report formats but were helpless. They had tried compromise, but when was out of town even the compromised a'reements were often canceled. They /ere debatin' whether or not it could ever wor!, and even were wonderin' if they should leave. /e wor!ed for a lon' time 'oin' throu'h the procedures they wanted established, tryin' to find a way to satisfy the other partners. t seemed we were wor!in' a'ainst insurmountable obstacles. $bout ei'ht o*cloc! spo!e somethin' that surprised me perhaps as much as it did them. realiLed a little later it had to be a thou'ht placed into my mind by the Holy %pirit. #6o you have any idea what would happen financially if the five of us too! my clients, moved to another location, hired a secretary and started a new businessD+ had never before considered anythin' eMcept remainin' in the same partnership " why should . had it made there! ,ow, loo! how God had been spea!in' to them. #/e didn*t thin! you would even consider that.+ 4;

#But do you have any idea what would happenD+ #/ell, we too! the computer runs of the past year*s income from your clients and proBected it for a year.+ They had eMperience in doin' plannin' and proBection wor! for clients and they !new what they were doin'. as!ed them what it revealed. # f we did what you said, at the end of the first year we Fthe four of themG would have to ta!e a O8,=== each cut in pay( we would be O7H,=== in debt " and Fthey 'ulped a littleG that*s before you draw anythin'!+ had been drawin' a substantial salary and would have to continue to do so. loo!ed at them and said #How much faith do you have in GodD+ !new that in my security trained intellect would be an idiot to 'ive up all had wor!ed for all my life. Here was over fifty " should eMchan'e all of my security with retirement, sic!ness and death benefits and an eMcellent income could depend on every month, for a new companyD There would be inadeCuate clientele to support siM people, the very probable incurrin' of debts, lon' hours of wor! without fees to build a new business and no promise of a cash income each month which had to have. /hen said #How much faith do you have in God,+ inside !new if we did this, it would be entirely on faith " not intellect. /e concluded our meetin' and called Frances to tell her would be home in a few minutes. f you have read our boo! #How to -a!e .our -arria'e 3Mcitin'+ you will !now that when stop the car at 9=

home, Bump out and start runnin' toward the bac! door where find my %weetheart with arms fully outstretched, waitin' for me to love and be loved " TH$T*% %3C12 T.! Frances rushed to the car for an early 'reetin' and an anMious heart to !now what happened at the meetin'. 0ur seniorIhi'h school dau'hter was ri'ht with her. /e !new Joanie would soon be in colle'e and were anticipatin' a substantial eMpense. had already reduced my income because of my travels. eMplained to Frances and Joanie all that the youn' men had tal!ed about, their problems and their desires. Finally shared the discussion about a new business and told them also of the ris! of loss of income at a time we had no adeCuate source to supply our financial needs " eMcept we loo! to God as our source. He loo!s to us to do our best. eMplained how had climaMed the meetin' by as!in' the men #How much faith do you have in GodD+ /hen as!ed Frances what she thou'ht, without hesitation or word she simply raised her ri'ht foot and, as if steppin' forward, put her foot down on the concrete carport floor. nstantly we !new God had spo!en to both of us, 'ivin' the same answer to two people fully in one accord. 5et me tell you how God prepared our minds for such sensitive reaction to a very important, maBor decision, and how we communicated that answer. -oses had been chosen by God for a special 7A= year assi'nment to lead the sraelites, God*s chosen children, out of bonda'e in 3'ypt, throu'h the 2ed %ea to their salvation and freedom and on into the &romised 5and of Canaan. -oses almost 97

successfully fulfilled his assi'nment, eMcept for one disobedient act which stopped him Bust an eyesi'ht away from his destination. God chose his assistant, Joshua, to complete the Bourney into the land of mil! and honey. $ little over a month after -oses died, Joshua !new it was time to lead the sraelites across the Jordan river into their new home. He 'ave the command to the vast multitude of followers and they be'an to move forward. The priests led the march carryin' the $r!. $t the end of the first day they came to the river ban!s and there waited three days for their chosen day to cross. The river at that time was floodin', overflowin' all its ban!s " actually impossible to cross. 0n the mornin' of the third day Joshua ordered the priests, #Ta!e up the $r! and lead us across the river!+ $nd so they started. They had been summoned to listen to what the 5ord God had saidE #Thin! of it! The $r! of God, who is the 5ord of the whole earth, will lead you across the river! ,ow select twelve men, one for each tribe, for a special tas!. /hen the priests who are carryin' the $r! touch the water with their feet, the river will stop flowin' as thou'h held bac! by a dam, and will pile up as thou'h a'ainst an invisible wall!+ FJoshua 8E77I7:G ,ow picture the priests leadin' this 'rand parade. They were carryin' the $r! with poles throu'h rin's on all four corners, similar to the way a cas!et is carried today. can see them, eMcited and anMious, on either side of the $r! marchin' toward the floodwaters with the $r! Fdepictin' JesusG. They are at the water*s ed'e. can see the front two 9A

priests liftin' their feet to place them into the water, Bust as God told them to do! They could have at this point said #But God, you said the river would be dry!+ But they didn*t! They put their feet down, the waters dried up and they marched across the Jordan river on dry 'round! *H$*7 F$+*H, Frances and had Bust read this eMcitin' story and saw the faith they had to do the impossible, but to do it because they did not doubt God " and they did not doubt that Joshua had heard God spea! and !new without a doubt what he said. Frances and were facin' a seemin'ly impossible river to cross. God didn*t say eMactly how we would cross it or what was on the other side. /e didn*t attempt to fi'ure out how he would lead us throu'h the water, and we didn*t even send spies across into the Jericho we were to claim as our own. $ll we !new was that Jesus assured us that if we would follow him, he would ta!e us to a &romised 5and, to an abundant life. /e !new we could trust him to lead us wherever he wanted us to 'o, and with all our hearts we wanted to follow him. nstantly when Frances put her foot down on the concrete floor, we !new the #water had dried up+ and we !new God had spo!en. By faith, and faith alone, our decision was made. 3arly the neMt mornin' met with the four youn' men, told them what had happened, how God had spo!en and that by faith in God alone we were ready to 'o. $nd then said #Have you the 'uts to 'o throu'h with thisD+ don*t !now if they decided by faith or by #'uts,+ but we called a meetin' of the 98

other partners and informed them of our plans. *m sure about then they felt li!e they were in the middle of the river, and were unsure whether the invisible walls of water would hold as we marched across. 2i'ht then the atmosphere in our office was not eMactly peaceful, and action be'an at once. For awhile was 'lad the twelve men in the Jordan 2iver story didn*t show up with the twelve stones " they mi'ht have been thrown, instead of used as an altar. /e be'an to plan and ne'otiate the separation of my business from the total business. The overall plan was for me to ta!e all the clients had been servicin' Fidentified as mine on our computer recordsG, the accounts receivable and wor! in pro'ress relatin' to those clients, the furnishin's and eCuipment in my office and certain other office furniture, eCuipment and supplies. The cash and other assets and liabilities were simply to be divided in the percent of ownership. This sounds simple. have wor!ed with separation of other professional partnerships, and the division never comes out eCuitably because the dollar value and the list of clients don*t match " not 'enerally anywhere close, and neither does the feasible separation of furnishin's and eCuipment. But God can and does do miracles in today*s business world! /e three ori'inal partners a'reed on a method of evaluation of clients, furniture, and eCuipment. /e felt an eCuitable valuation method for clients was to assume each one was eCual to the previous year*s fees. /e made a list of every client. $t the 9:

ri'ht of the client name we had two columns( one headed #Total+ and the other #Charles.+ $s we put values on the list, if was to own the ri'hts to the client business, we put the same fi'ure in each column. f the other partners were to retain ownership, the value would be put in only the total column. /hen the entire list was complete and approved by each and all partners we totaled the two columns. t was a mechanical process and we had the ability to do that. But loo! at what God did while we were busy with the mechanics! owned :8? of the total business. /e were to multiply the total column by :8? and ne'otiate the difference between the :8? and the total value of my clients. /ould you li!e to hear what God didD The :8? total and my client value were eMactly even!! This would be li!e a million to one odds, but it*s a sure thin' when God does a miracle. This was Bust one of many ways God had of confirmin' his control of what was happenin' in my life. To divide and evaluate the furniture and eCuipment, we did a similar thin'. /e made an inventory list of each item. 3ach of us too! a copy of the list and put the value we felt applied to each item. /e then a'reed on a value for each item where our individual values varied. Finally we had set an a'reed price on every item. This was put in the #Total+ column. To the ri'ht was the #Charles+ column. n this, we placed the value for each item we a'reed for me to ta!e. Then we totaled the two columns, multiplied the total by :8?. This list was several pa'es lon', worth several thousand dollars, made up of some items over fifteen years old, some 9H

nearly new, and no effort had been made to eCualiLe the percent value to the items to be mine. :8? of the #Total+ column was only OA== different than the #Charles+ column! $nd !new the difference was not God*s error!! &raise God!! God continued to do many miracles and for each one praised him and 'ave him all the 'lory. Too often we say #wasn*t that a coincidence+ or #luc!y+ or #nice,+ instead of Cuic!ly reco'niLin' his miracles by sayin' #Than! you, Jesus.+ ,ear the end of the year we moved to a beautiful new buildin' in the same commercial area, hired a secretary and started our new business " on faith! By the time the details were out of the way, taM season was upon us. $ny 'ood C&$ firm can !eep busy in taM season and we hardly had time to loo! up until the end of $pril. The new partners rushed the computer report, proBected it and the future wor! !nown to be available " and almost panic!ed! There wasn*t half enou'h business to !eep us busy the rest of the year They called an after HE== emer'ency meetin' where we really analyLed our financial pli'ht. t loo!ed very s!impy. 6an said maybe he should 'et an outside Bob and with that money, a lot of effort to brin' in new clients, and with what we could do with our eMistin' clients, maybe we could #poorI boy+ it throu'h till neMt taM season. said no, that God had told us to start this business and he would carry us throu'h. Gerald searchin'ly said, # f we Bust had a OH,=== audit this summer we would have it made.+ /ith a feelin' of wal!in' on thin ice, we concluded our meetin'. much prefer, and believe it 94

safer, to #wal! on water+ toward Jesus, and simply trust him. %ome day hope he 'ives me enou'h faith to wal! on physical water, but *m than!ful that he 'ives me many opportunities to fi'uratively wal! on water throu'h problems by faith " his faith, 'iven to me li!e manna from heaven. $nd yet the miracles could not happen unless we stepped beyond our human capabilities. $nd that*s how we paid our bills for a while. /hen the rent came due we had Bust received the money a day or so before. /hen payrolls were to be met, the money barely arrived on time( but all payments were met on time by the manna God provided daily " enou'h, but none left for the neMt day. $fter the meetin' that ni'ht, Frances and prayed. /e said, #God, so that these youn' men will unCuestionably see your 'lory and your miracle power we as! you to do a miracle and fulfill eMactly what Gerald as!ed. /e as! you in Jesus name to 'ive us an audit, not a taM client or special proBect, this summer, because Gerald put a time limit on it( and a fee of OH,===.+ /e said #Than! you, Father,+ and praised him for what he was 'oin' to do. Then we added a &.%. " +Father, if you would li!e to 'ive us more than OH,===, we sure could use it.+ He promises abundance, doesn*t heD The neMt day told Gerald and Charlie what we had prayed and to watch God answer. /e sincerely believe that if we 'ive him first place, and all other places in our lives, he will 'ive abundantly, financially.

99

$bout a month went by and we hadn*t heard of any one wantin' us to audit their records. Frances and prayed a'ain and 'uess, in effect, we said #6on*t for'et, God!+ But God honors a sincere, see!in' heart, and he never for'ets. t must have been the neMt day that was in the office about 7=E== $.-. and my buLLer called me to the phone. t was Jesse, one of our senior staff men in the former partnership. $fter eMchan'in' warm 'reetin's, he said he had Bust left the employment of the firm and accepted a new assi'nment as assistant to the business mana'er of a lar'e Bunior colle'e in Houston. He remar!ed about my eMperience as auditor for several colle'es and !new was well established in colle'e accountin', auditin' procedures, and reportin'. Then he said " +/3 $23 CH$,G ,G $16 T02% TH % .3$2 $,6 /0156 5 J3 T0 T$5J T0 .01 $B01T -$J ,G $, $16 T!+ To me it was the voice of God but it sounded to my ears li!e Jesse said it! made an appointment and rushed in to tell Gerald " +God Bust answered our prayer " let*s 'o 'et the audit!+ The short of the story wasE 7. /e 'ot the audit " not a taM client or special proBect. A. t was that summer, well on time. 8. OH,===DDD " O77,8==!!!

&#SUS !ON'T S(ONSO) NO $%O(S!!!

Business be'an comin' in faster and faster and Frances and were prayin' #God, we as! you to so supernaturally provide business for our firm until they can*t !eep up with it, so they can see without a doubt that you are doin' it.+ FreCuently remar!ed 9<

to the partners how God was answerin' with more and more business. remember that fall, when normally wor! is the most slac!, we were scheduled for a several day tour in Florida. The day before we were to leave, was called to an emer'ency meetin'. They said we were all so swamped and behind that they wanted me to cancel my part of this Florida trip. as!ed if one of the clients wor!ed with was needin' me. They said no, it*s Bust that we were all behind. remar!ed that for over twenty years had promised God would wor! for him as soon as cau'ht up my wor!. This rarely happened. said, #,o, believe God has said to 'o, so *m 'oin'. But, if a client calls and needs my professional services, *ll fly bac! to ta!e care of it.+ believe God will always see that we can do our secular Bob in a superior manner if we always do our very best. They were practically demandin' and be''in' me to stay, but believed with all my heart God meant for me to 'o. Finally, said #6o you want us to stop prayin' for wor!D+ Puic!ly one of them said " +,o, no, no, don*t do that!+ &raise God, they reco'niLed his miracle power. The year soon passed, the records were completed for the year and we discovered the fruit of our first year in the new businessE 7. The four partners did not ta!e a O8,=== cut in salary " they made much more than they would have in the other firm. A. /e were not O7H,=== in the hole. /e not only had paid all bills on time( we had invested in some land syndications( had drawn a substantial salaryE they paid several thousand dollars to me for 9;

purchase of furniture and eCuipment and other items, and we had a Certificate of 6eposit for cash in the ban! for nearly as much as we estimated we would owe at the end of our first year! $lon' with these beautiful financial miracles came what was to me the most blessed bonus could have received. 2emember way bac! before Frances and had even met God said to cut my wor! to oneIhalfD n blind unCuestionin' obedience never as!ed God what he wanted me to do with my half time. But durin' our first year in the new business, Frances and had traveled the nation to'ether sharin' the Good ,ews about Jesus and the love of God to multiplied thousands, wor!in' hard to do my accountin' when we were home( and Frances wor!in' Bust as hard to ma!e our boo!in's and answer hundreds of letters and do the other Bobs of operatin' a 'rowin' ministry. suppose we wor!ed more than 7H hours a day, 84H days of the year. /ould you li!e to 'uess my production time for the C&$ firmD /e !new it was difficult to produce A,=== billable hours per year and do all the readin', administrative, and nonproductive wor!. /ith only God plannin' the wor!Iload, the computer showed my productive time to be 7,=AH hours. $lmost eMactly half time! Than! you, Jesus! %ince that beautiful first year, the company has almost Cuadrupled in siLe. have had complete freedom in travelin' for Jesus. Frances and wor! completely as a team and are never separated on trips. The first of February, 7;98, our boo! #The Two %ides of a Coin+ was released to the Christian boo! <=

readers. This shared our headIon collision with the mi'hty Holy %pirit as we received the baptism of the Holy %pirit, Bust li!e the disciples did on the day of &entecost. This launched us into a vast new world in our ministry. $bout February 7Hth God spo!e to Frances and me simultaneously and said to reduce my time in the C&$ practice to oneIfourth time. formulated a financial plan compatible to my reduced time in practice and the financial arran'ement with my youn' partners. Before could call them to tell them what God had said, they called me to a meetin' where they presented a modified financial arran'ement which they felt would allow them to eMpand more freely, and allow me to travel with less obli'ation to them. $maLin'ly their plan was almost identical with the one God had 'iven to me. There he 'oes a'ain tal!in' to my partners before we can discuss his plan! God is Fabulous!! 0n February A9, 7;98, God literally dumped Frances and me into a miracle ministry where thousands have been healed physically as well as spiritually. This further eMpanded our outreach and more demand was made on our time. wonder what God would have done if he had pic!ed a 87 day month instead of one with A<. Great is our God, and 'reatly to be praised! /H0 % TH % -$, J3%1%D Jesus is the best C&$ !now. He is head of the lar'est business in the 1niverse " He runs the whole of heaven and earth " in perfection He is our boss He is our -aster <7

He is our Jin' He is 3verythin' we need to attain success abundantlyQ

<A

%NIBBLING& IN SIN
God has been !ept very busy showin' me areas of my life which he needed to replace with his better way of life. %ome came easily " others had a more difficult time lettin' him remove and replace. But praise his holy name, he never 'ives up! Jesus meant serious business when he defined discipleship. He meant for us to 'o all the way if we follow him. %o many little thin's had 'rown accustomed to doin' were really not Cuite ri'ht or not Cuite true " almost, but not Cuite. did a lot of #Bustifyin'+ my little sins. The one who loses a race may be only an inch behind the winner " but he doesn*t win. n hi'h school bro!e the county record in the mile race, but another runner was ahead of me at the end. God has repeatedly revealed little areas of #almost+ sin in my life. would hate to #almost+ reach heaven. n my determination to be what God wants me to be, have sincerely disciplined myself to Cuit sinnin' even a #little+ bit. &oppa had built lots of road beds and railroad beds with fresnos pulled by mules, so he was the one selected to build the irri'ation system for the ,ew -eMico valley where we lived when was a child. went with him and my bi' brothers one time up to where the water was to come out of the river. really couldn*t see how it would wor!. t loo!ed to me li!e he had made the ditch 'o an'lin' ri'ht up the side of a bi' steep hill and Bust !new water couldn*t run up hill. But trusted my father and if he said water would 'o up that hill, had faith in him to believe it would so didn*t try to fi'ure it out " <8

Bust accepted it. /hat didn*t !now was that the whole mountain was taller at one end than the other and the irri'ation ditch was actually 'oin' down hillIup hill. T /02J36! %ince then have learned that my heavenly Father does lots of thin's don*t understand, so don*t try to fi'ure them out " Bust accept them! trust him and it he says a blind or deaf person can be instantly healed, have faith in him to believe it. even have faith in Jesus to believe he can mana'e my business decisions by usin' my mind to put the decisions into. t wor!s! &art of this irri'ation ditch ran across our land. $lon' both ban!s of the ditch we had lots of clover and 'rass li!e it was on the river bottom land. &oppa and my two bi' brothers planted fields of alfalfa neMt to the clover which provided hay for our cows in the winter. -y Bob was to watch the cows and !eep them out of the alfalfa. f they ate 'reen alfalfa, they bloated and would die if somethin' wasn*t done Cuic!ly. f they started to bloat, &oppa would ma!e me run them around the corral an hour or two until the bloatin' disappeared. didn*t mind the runnin' so much, but couldn*t have my supper till finished with the cows. !new had better do a 'ood Bob of herdin' " and really did want to, but sometimes 'ot sleepy in the warm sun. -y shepherd do', 2in', would help me but he sometimes doLed off with me. t seemed li!e every time turned my head, one of the cows* noses would be Bust in the ed'e of the alfalfa field. They didn*t 'et all the way into the field, but they were always wantin' to nibble in the alfalfa patch. That*s Bust li!e a lot of Christians when they 'et saved " <:

they want to see how close they can 'et to sin and stay saved and if they thin! no one is watchin' Fespecially JesusG they Bust #nibble+ in sin! ,ot much " Bust a little bit! t ta!es Bust a #little+ bit of sin to ma!e us spiritually bloat and this can cause us to spiritually die. 6o you remember the story in the fifth chapter of $cts about $nanias and his wife %apphiraD 2ead it and see what happened when they nibbled in sin. 8ut there was a man named $nanias (with his wife a..hira) who sold some .ro.erty, -rought only .art of the money, claiming it was the full .rice. (His wife had agreed to this dece.tion.) 8ut 9eter said, 3$nanias, atan has filled your heart. (hen you claimed this was the full .rice, you were lying to the Holy .irit. .ro.erty was yours to sell or not, as you wished. $nd after selling it, it was yours to decide how much to give. How could you do a thing li4e this5 You weren7t lying to us, -ut to God." $s soon as $nanias heard these words, he fell to the floor, dead, /veryone was terrified, the younger men covered him with a sheet and too4 him out and -uried him. $-out three hours later his wife came in, not 4nowing what had ha..ened. as4ed her, 3:id you .eo.le sell your land for such and such a .rice5" 3Yes," she re.lied, 3we did." 9eter said, 3How could you and your hus-and even thin4 of doing a thing li4e this cons.iring together to test the .irit of God7s a-ility to 4now what is going on5 !ust outside that door are the

<H

young men who -uried your hus-and, and they will carry you out too." +nstantly she fell to the floor, dead, and the young men came in and, seeing that she was dead, carried her out and -uried her -eside her hus-and. *error gri..ed the entire church and all others who heard what had ha..ened. would li!e to share some of the areas in which #nibbled+ in sin until was reminded by the Holy %pirit that they were not ri'ht. $lso, *ll include #niblets+ others have brou'ht to my attention. &erhaps, if you want to wal! with me toward discipleship with Jesus, some of these may remind you of the refinin', polishin' process which has ta!en place For needs toG in your life. God*s wor! on my life has pro'ressed from the sta'e of chiselin' off the rou'h outer layers, to soapIstonin' and fine polishin'. He still has more to do on me " how about youD #,ibblin'+ is tryin' to 'et by with what you !now is wron' " and hopin' you don*t 'et cau'ht Fespecially by God*G. n school it is so easy to let our eyes wander across the answer on the eMamination paper of the #smarter+ student sittin' neMt to us! 0ur #nibblin'+ started when we didn*t fully prepare for the eMam " maybe because we played a little too much while mother went to the store( or maybe because we were thin!in' of our boy friend or 'irl friend while we should have concentrated on our studies. Then the neMt #nibble+ came when we first thou'ht # wonder what the answer is " wonder if Bill !nows( he*s already completed that part. won*t really loo!, but <4

Bust in case notice as loo! up, the answer Bust mi'ht come into my view.+ The neMt time you are tempted, Bust say #Jesus, *m Bust 'oin' to snea! a pee! " Bust a little )nibble*.+ n my C&$ business *ve had #honest+ clients as! me #How much will the 'overnment allow me to deduct for donations on my income taM returnD+ simply replyE #/hatever you have 'iven.+ %ome who wouldn*t even " consider robbin' a ban! are tryin' to 'ain Bust a little bit of savin's by nibblin' in theft " not much( Bust a little bit! t doesn*t ta!e but a few tastes of sin to entice us into the middle of the alfalfa field! Generally, if we feel we can 'et by with a little, we 'et 'reedy until we 'et cau'ht. 3ven demons eMtend their operations too far and eMpose their evil eMistence. 3Mpense account paddin' can be Bustified if we want to sin " Bust a little bit! t*s nice to ta!e Bust a minute or two more than is allowed at coffee brea! or durin' lunch time. #,ibblin'+ in sinD # *ve 'ot three eMtra days of sic! time haven*t used so *ll Bust tell them don*t feel 'ood F wouldn*t want to say *m sic!G. /ell, everyone else does it, so why shouldn*t D+ #-ary, *m 'oin' to be five minutes late comin' bac! from noon shoppin' " will you be )'ood* and punch my time card at one o*cloc!D+ That time two of our cows #nibbled+ in the alfalfa, didn*t theyD don*t !now if #playin' ho!ey+ from school is #nibblin' in sin+ or Bust plain in /e attempt to ma!e sin sound sacred by callin' a lie a white lie. <9

Have you ever let up on your Bob and Bust too! it easyD ,ot doin' our very best for our employer is tryin' to 'et away with less than our best, when we would do better if we !new he was watchin'. Have you ever noticed how hard it is to !eep wor!in' if the boss is on vacation or away from the office or plantD 2emember, Jesus is actually our boss! remember one time our choir needed eMtra copies of the sheet music for a Christmas cantata. /e !new someone with a copy machine and they were #nice+ enou'h to ma!e enou'h copies so that each of us had our very own copy " so we could worship Jesus! /ere we worshippin' Jesus " or %atanD That isn*t really sin, is itD .es " as! the one who holds the copyri'ht and sells the sheet music. 0ur teacher in school didn*t allow us to chew 'um durin' classes or study period. enBoyed chewin' 'um and Bust once tried to 'et away with it. hardly moved my Baws " but my teacher noticed. $ctually, noticed it lon' before she did, because didn*t li!e to do wron' " even a little bit. The Holy %pirit reminds us of ri'ht and wron' " even little wron's, if we want to please Jesus. remember the first time ever saw my two older brothers, -ilton and Clyde, smo!e a ci'arette. t shoc!ed me but wanted to be bi' and smart, too, li!e they were. n spite of all my be''in', they wouldn*t let me even ta!e a puff. &raise God! But my attitude #nibbled.+ ,either of my brothers went on smo!in'. have never even put a ci'arette in my mouth, for which 'ive God the praise. *m 'lad was cau'ht Bust before my first bite of alfalfa! ,o alcoholic ever too! the first drin! with the intention <<

of becomin' an alcoholic. /e saw alcoholic youn' people on national TK recently. 0ne of them said he too! sips from bottles at home when he was five years old. He was an alcoholic before he was twelve! -ost habits start by nibblin' " Bust for !ic!s! Jesus says to present our bodies a livin' sacrifice, holy and acceptable to him. 0nly the holy shall see God. #6on*t you !now that you yourselves are God*s temple, and that God*s %pirit lives in youD f anyone destroys God*s temple, God will destroy him( for God*s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.+ F Cor. 8E74I79 , KG *m tal!in' about wantin' to be pleasin' to God. 3ven our doctors will confirm that habits of tobacco, alcohol and dru's are dama'in' to our bodies. don*t believe Jesus would use any of them, and if we follow him, we won*t either. .ou mi'ht be sayin', # don*t see why need to stop doin' it.+ /e have a sayin' at our house " +if in doubt, throw it out.+ /e see thousands of Christians delivered of smo!in'. %ome of them decide they*ll test Jesus to see if he really delivered them, so they*ll #snea!+ a ci'arette. Just nibblin' in sin, and before lon' they*re ri'ht bac! where they started from. 0ne afternoon left my office for home. -y mind Cuic!ly left my wor! and spent full time thin!in' to God as soon as stopped concentratin' on the day*s duties. By the time reached the elevator was almost sin'in' aloud about God*s 'reatness. -y office is on the 7;th floor, near the top of the buildin', so stepped to the bac! of the elevator as we descended. $ll of a sudden a sharp loo!in', wellIbuilt youn' lady with the most miniI <;

miniIs!irt you could ima'ine Fyou really didn*t have to ima'ine muchG stepped ri'ht before my eyes. ,ow you can*t help seein' when somethin' li!e that is the only obBect in your line of vision! /ell, can youD Cuic!ly turned my eyes in another direction so wouldn*t see what had already seen. Just as did, thou'htE # wonder if God saw me loo!+( then realiLed he did Fbut didn*t want to admit itG. He !new couldn*t help it! %uddenly Bust loo!ed up and said #G06, 6 6 .01 %33 TH0%3 53G%D+ ima'ine most men notice ladies* le's, their shape and eMposure. t must be so, or else the ladies would not eMpose themselves. had no desire nor intention to parta!e of the product advertised, but lust could have been fed until it became stron' enou'h to become sin. &ersonally, turned the other way. ,ibblin' usually is an innocent distant view of sin, but if the 'rass loo!s 'reener on the other side, %atan encoura'es us to nibble Bust a little. He probably would misCuote the scripture, li!e he did with Jesus, and say, #Try me, test me, prove me, and see if won*t open the windows and let you have fun.+ He is a liar, and his ways never lead toward the abundant life. Tellin' Bo!es is a way of nibblin' in sin. have been at many church parties where we shared Bo!es. Clean ones, of course! don*t remember ever 'ettin' past a few Bo!es until Bust a little #nibblin'+ started and implied dirt be'an to show up. God puts plenty of humor into conversations if they are about him and Jesus. Frances and never have a dull minute and lau'h far more than Bo!es can brin' about. /e believe in havin' a 'ood time, but we do ;=

it by feasting on the manna instead of ni--ling in sin. #&rove all thin's( hold fast that which is 'ood. $bstain from all a..earance of evil.+ F Thes. HEA7I AA JJKG *m sure this #nibble+ will spea! to a very lar'e number of #Christians+E Gettin' too familiar on dates " lettin' our emotions overshadow the voice of the Holy %pirit. t*s the #playin' around+ to 'et the feel of the situation when God is sayin' #don*t touch+ that leads beyond the nibblin' line of no return. ,ibblin' seems Bustifiable if we are ever so li'htly considerin' 'ivin' way to a temptation. The 'ravity pull toward sin 'ets stron'er and stron'er as we wea!en little by little " then all too suddenly sin comes in to destroy and !ill. $mon' Christians en'a'ed to be married, this can chan'e a Godly beauty to an u'ly adultery and a lifetime of 'uilt can result if we let emotions 'et out of control. God is 'racious and marvelous to for'ive us of our sins, but he doesn*t for'ive in advance the ones you are about to commit. That willful, deliberate sin of placin' the 'od of seM over the $lmi'hty God loo!s hi'hly distorted when seen in the floodli'ht of God. t*s not possible to compliment God and Jesus by preferrin' any other 'ods. &eter, do you love meD &eter, do you love meD &eter, do you love meD 0r will we, too, deny him when the pleasures of this world are made availableD #0nce you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil ;7

behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ*s physical body throu'h death to present you holy in his si'ht, without blemish and free from accusation " if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the 'ospel.+ FCol. 7EA7IA8 , KG #%ubmit yourselves therefore to God. 2esist the devil, and he will flee from you.+ FJames :E9 JJKG #For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his si'ht.+ F3ph. 7E: , KG Jesus said, #F0550/ -3+ $nd he doesn*t nibble in sinD

;A

SHOOT CUSSIN'()!&* !
&oppa was a sinner! Then he met Jesus in a very personal way when was about ei'ht years old, and the world around our house chan'ed. He wasn*t mean " he was a very wonderful father, even before he became a Christian. 0ne of &oppa*s very most proficient sins was his special vocabulary of curse words. He must have really had a hi'h de'ree FCus.6. instead of &h6G from that school because believe he could match the sum of all cursin' eMperts. -aybe he used that vocabulary to ma!e up for his lac! of #nice+ adBectives " he used them for eMclamation points, conBunctions, prepositions, commas, periods, semiI colons, dashes, asteris!s, and some special ones he invented!>. 3ven attitudes could be eMpressed by his unauthoriLed 'rammar. always admired and respected &oppa. suppose was somewhat #awed+ by him. He only whipped me twice and thumped my ears a few corrective times, all of which Fin his opinionG needed. -uch later in life a'reed, but not at the time, probably. He was a severe disciplinarian. /e !ids !new our bounds and learned Cuic!ly that it was more pleasant to want to do thin's that pleased him. He was severe because he loved us! # continually discipline and punish everyone love( so must punish you, unless you turn from your indifference and become enthusiastic about the thin's of God.+ F2evelation 8E7;G Jids who love their parents try to be li!e them so they learn Cuic!ly to do everythin' they can li!e ;8

'rownIups. 0ne day my sister Frances, Bust older than , made me mad. n fact at least two times she did that. 0ne time hit her across the shins with a broom handleQ Bust as wrote that remembered how Bust before it hit her felt bad inside but the momentum was too stron' to stop my swin'. 3ver since then it has hurt me that would have done such a thin'. The Holy %pirit convicted me of my wron' even as a small child. The other time 'ot mad at her started cursin' her. %o far as !now, had never used any curse words out loud in my life before that, but my father had tau'ht me thorou'hly #all+ of his words and used them all " several times each! /hen realiLed what had done, was crushed inside and felt mean and dirty. That*s probably why never cursed a'ain in my whole life. Bust didn*t want to and !new that it was wron' before anyone ever told me. $fter &oppa 'ot saved Jesus cleaned up his mouth and habits. 0ne time before he was saved &oppa went off into the woods for two days and ni'hts without his pipe and tobacco to try to Cuit smo!in', Bust for -ama. He discovered it Bust wouldn*t wor!, so he smo!ed ni'ht and day until the %pirit of God spo!e to him. Then without a trip to the woods he Bust Cuit smo!in' " for Jesus. That really is how Jesus 'ives us power to rid us of bad habits " when we do it for him! &oppa Cuit cursin' soon after he and -ama 'ot saved. 0ne day -ama was watchin' &oppa ta!e the rim off of a -odel T Ford to repair a flat. The Ford Company hadn*t en'ineered a way of repairin' flats that would cooperate with you and it was easy to ;:

smash your fin'ers. &oppa was really stru''lin', and each time he would hurt his fin'er he would say #$w, shoot!+ $fter hearin' him say this many times, -ama said, #&oppa, you haven*t Cuit cussin*, you Bust chan'ed words! ,ow you*re )shoot cussin*.+ don*t remember ever hearin' him even #shootI cuss+ after that. %o stron' was the desire in my mother and father to do what God wanted them to that they disciplined themselves to move as far away from any form of un'odliness as they could. That*s probably where learned in my heart to move as far away from sin as could. The Bible says to resist the devil and he will flee from you. t also says to draw close to God and he will draw close to you. FJames :E9I<G That*s also what mean by not #nibblin'+ in sin. 6urin' the past few years since started wantin' to please God instead of tryin' to please myself, he started revealin' more and more of the dross in me. He be'an to apply the fire of his %pirit to remove impurities. FHe still is doin' this as little #Christian sins+ come to the surface to be s!immed off li!e dross, as allow him to do it.G %ins can only be #Christian+ sins when the Christian wants to be separated from them. The only time we sin is when we want to. don*t want to sin because that means want my way instead of God*s way. But God*s smelterin' process in purifyin' me has not been to burn me by applyin' too much heat at one time. He does little by little what he !nows is best. n my see!in' his will for my life he be'an to point out little unsuspectin' flec!s of impurity in the ;H

form of #crutches+ used in tal!in'. He be'an to show me scriptures, and then to show my impurities in relation to these scriptures. 5et me show you how he tal!ed to me. 5et*s loo! at the scriptures firstE 3phesians :, startin' at verse 79IA;. Let me say this, then, speaking for the Lord& Li"e no longer as the unsa"ed do, for they are blinded and confused. #heir closed hearts are full of darkness; they are far away from the life of (od because they ha"e shut their minds against him, and they cannot understand his ways. #hey don)t care anymore about right and wrong and ha"e gi"en themsel"es o"er to impure ways. #hey stop at nothing, being dri"en by their e"il minds and reckless lusts. !ut that isn)t the way ;hrist taught you6 %f you ha"e really heard his "oice and learned from him the truths concerning himself, then throw off your old e"il nature A the old you that was a partner in your e"il ways A rotten through and through, full of lust and sham. 1ow your attitudes and thoughts must all be constantly changing for the better. 4es, you must be a new and different person, holy and good. ;lothe yourself with this new nature. 3top lying to each other; tell the truth, for we are parts of each other and when we lie to each other we are hurting oursel"es. 4ou are angry, don)t sin by nursing your grudge. .on)t let the sun go down with you still angry A get o"er it Buickly; when you are angry you gi"e a mighty foothold to the de"il. ;4

%f anyone is stealing he must stop it and begin using those hands of his for honest work so he can gi"e to others in need. .on)t use bad language. 3ay only what is good and helpful to those you are talking to, and what will gi"e them a blessing. #Jeep away from every !ind of evil+ F#$bstain from all appearance of evil.+ JJKG F Thes. HEAAG #.ou shall not use the name of Jehovah your God irreverently, nor use it to swear to a falsehood. .ou will not escape punishment if you do.+ F3Modus A=E9G Col. 8E 7I< 3%1;, 405 !,; M, ali"e again, so to speak, when ;hrist arose from the dead, now set your sights on the rich treasures and joys of hea"en where he sits beside (od in the place of honor and power. Let hea"en fill your thoughts; don)t spend your time worrying about things down here. should ha"e as little desire for this world as a dead person does. 4our real life is in hea"en with ;hrist and (od. when ;hrist who is our real life comes back again, you will shine with him and share in all his glories. way then with sinful, earthly things; deaden the e"il desires lurking within you; ha"e nothing to do with se$ual sin, impurity, lust and shameful desires; don)t worship the good things of life, for that is idolatry. (od)s terrible anger is upon those who do such things. used to do them when your life was still part of this world; but now is the time ;9

to cast off and throw away all these rotten garments of anger, hatred, cursing, and dirty language. -att. HE88I89 gain, the law of Moses says, C4ou shall not break your "ows to (od, but must fulfill them all.) !ut % say& .on)t make any "ows6 nd e"en to say, C!y hea"ens6) is a sacred "ow to (od, for the hea"ens are (od)s throne. nd if you say C!y the earth6) it is a sacred "ow, for the earth is his footstool. nd don)t swear C!y Jerusalem6) for Jerusalem is the capital of the great /ing. .on)t e"en swear C!y my head6) for you can)t turn one hair white or black. 3ay just a simple C4es, % will) or C1o, % won)t. 4our word is enough. #o strengthen your promise with a"ow shows that something is wrong.* -att. 7AE 88I89 tree is identified by its fruit. tree from a select "ariety produces good fruit; poor "arieties don)t. 4ou brood of snakes6 7ow could e"il men like you speak what is good and right' +or a man)s heart determines his speech. good man)s speech re"eals the rich treasures within him. n e"il?hearted man is filled with "enom, and his speech re"eals it. nd % tell you this, that you must gi"e account on Judgment .ay for e"ery idle word you speak. words now reflect your fate then& either you will be justified by them or you will be condemned.* ;<

-att. HEA7IA8 #1nder the laws of -oses the rule was, ) f you !ill, you must die.* But have added to that rule,* and tell you that if you are only angry, even in your own homes you are in dan'er of Bud'ment! f you call your friend an idiot, you are in dan'er of bein' brou'ht before the court. $nd if you curse him, you are in dan'er of the fires of hell.* ,ow let*s loo! at some of the common impurities which *ll describe as #shootIcussin*.+ These are eMpressions learned from our former father, %atan, Bust as learned them from my earthly father. /e 'o tal!in' alon' usin' our word crutches which be'in to describe our inner attitudes until we become what we say Fwe are sayin' what we really are insideG. /e Christians are too #nice+ and #ri'hteous+ to use profanity li!e sinners do, aren*t weD 0r, are weD $re we tryin' to see how close we can 'et to the alfalfa patch, or the 3'ypt of sin, and still reside in the abundance of Canaan( the abundance offered only in Holy livin'. The Bible says #. . . one who is not holy will not see the 5ord.+ FHeb. 7AE7:G &eople in crime often chan'e their name and use as an alias names bearin' the same initials. n %atan*s pattern of counterfeitin' God*s ways, he also uses similar soundin' eMpressions, or names bearin' the same initials. $ctually Christians counterfeit %atan*s lan'ua'e.

;;

0ur attitudes are still the same as they were before Jesus made us new creatures " they Bust seem nicer! 5oo! at these #%hoot Cussin+ eMpressionsE

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K15G$2 &20F$, T. $w, shoot %huc!s Bull Baloney Garba'e &shaw $w, &fftt! %haft 6arn it 6a'InabIit, dan' it, or dadI'um it %on of a 'un 2aise Cain Hec! /hat in the %am Hill Teed off, tic!ed off &ain in the nec! That*s a lot of stuff Butter hit the fan $ lot of -alar!ey K$ , " &20F$,3 1%3 0F G06*% 02 J3%1%* ,$-3 0 my 'osh By 'olly God Jesus Jesus Christ Jeepers Creepers FJCG Jiminy Cric!ets FJCG Jumpin' Jehosephat Good 'racious Good 'rief 7=7

Good Gosh %/3$2 B. F-att. HE88I89 Cuoted aboveGE swear swear to God -y word %1B%T T1T3 G006 F02 B$6 " 0&&0% T3 For heaven*s sa!e 0h, heavens /hat on earth /hat in the worldD /hat in heaven*s nameD FGod or JesusG How in blaLes %35F 3%T33- " K$ , Bless God Bless &atty Bless my soul -y 'oodness Four 'oodness is as filthy ra'sG -y 'racious -y, oh my -y, my -ercy -ercy 'oodness Then there are those eMpressions which are another form of substitution, shoot cussin*, but are lan'ua'es attributed to %atan and his !in'domE #5uc!+ " Jesus is the answer, and we don*t need luc!. 2ead -atthew 4EAHI8:( Jesus says the heathen worry " we don*t need to( we have a sure thin'. /e even had someone recently say #Good luc! in your 7=A

miracle service.+ 3Mpressions li!e this are commonE #Better luc! neMt time( Good luc!, Tou'h luc!+. Fortunately *ll bet you Jnoc! on wood Blac! Cat Cross your heart and hope to die /al! under ladder Cross your fin'ers Throw salt over your shoulder t*s Thirteen F78G /eird " mostly pertainin' to ill fortune, omen, spell, charm, soothsayer, witchcraft. By chance " F#6id you by chance remember to 'o by the store for meD+G 0ne day Joanie, our dau'hter, came home from colle'e and attended our home church when we couldn*t be there. $fterwards she was eMcitedly tellin' of a miracle of healin' in the church service. %he be'an her story by sayin' #it was really weird how the person 'ot healed.+ was shoc!ed and said, #Joanie, don*t you realiLe you are referrin' to the wor! of the Holy %pirit with a satanic termD+ didn*t fully !now the meanin' of the word, but !new of a TK show where they referred to weird " and it was really #weird+. t was a horror sort of a witchcraft show, if remember correctly. $nyway, !new it wasn*t ri'ht. Bless her submissive heart, she started remindin' !ids at school that you 'lorify %atan when you use his terms. thin! she chan'ed

7=8

about half the students who had been usin' the word.

7=:

0ther terms of this nature areE Frea!ed out %poo!ey 6opey Goofey Gee /hiL %care the wits out of you remember how as an adult used to love to watch a TK show that showed witchcraft in an unsuspectin' fun way. 5ittle did realiLe that this was the early sta'es of a plan of %atan to brin' witchcraft to an all time hi'h in $merica. There are now thousands of #witches+ wor!in' for %atan and believe a lot of them 'ot their ideas to 'o into this evil power from watchin' pro'rams li!e the one especially loved. God has some very harsh thin's to say about any form of witchcraftE #/hen thou art come into the land which the 5ord thy God 'iveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. #There shall not be found amon' you any one that ma!eth his son or his dau'hter to pass throu'h the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wiLard, or a necromancer. For all that do these thin's are an abomination unto the 5ordE and because of these abominations the 5ord thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the 5ord thy God.+ F6eut. 7<EaI7AG FJJKG

7=H

# will put an end to all witchcraft " there will be no more fortune tellers to consult " and destroy all your idols.+ F-icah HE7AG #But when you follow your own wron' inclinations your lives will produce these evil resultsE impure thou'hts, ea'erness for lustful pleasure, idolatry, spiritism Fthat is, encoura'in' the activity of demonsG... .# FGalatians HE7;G 2efer a'ain to -att. 7AE8:I8H Cuoted above, and see how words and thou'hts affect us and othersE #.ou brood of sna!es! How could evil men li!e you spea! what is 'ood and ri'htD For a man*s heart determines his speech. $ 'ood man*s speech reveals the rich treasures within him. $n evilIhearted man is filled with venom, and his speech reveals it.+ Fear is one of the most horribly depressin' a'ents of %atan*s spirits in use today. /e can as! people in an audience who are depressed or are under a cloud of fear to stand and we are amaLed at the ma'nitude of his satanic control. /here do we 'et our early trainin'D 5oo! at some of these familiar #schools+ where we educate our childrenE #6on*t do that or the boo'ie man will 'et you!+ #Boo!+ /e teach them to be afraid of the dar! by sayin'E #The 'oblins For 'remlinsG will 'et you+ or #$ 'host will 'et you.+ /e encoura'e or allow them to watch scary TK pro'rams. /e spea! of policemen in a way to educate ourselves to fear them. #Be nice or the 'ood fairy won*t visit you.+ 7=4

#&ut the tooth that was pulled under your pillow so the 'ood fairy will leave you a Cuarter.+ /e all receive early trainin' and carefully pass on to our children phrases and #sayin's+, teachin' them where their security is, and how to 'et their world in order #without 'ivin' the 'lory to God and to Jesus+ FHow very coy and canny is %atan in his counterfeitin' deceitG. The first of these remember isE #%tar li'ht, star bri'ht, the first star *ve seen toni'ht. wish may, wish mi'ht have the wish wish toni'ht.+ /ouldn*t it be better to teach them that Jesus ta!es care of each day*s problems FCol. AE4G. That you can actually tal! to God and to Jesus and 'et answers, instead of placin' your hopes on a wish or on a star. $ few months a'o we were bac! sta'e in an auditorium before a miracle service be'an. $ little boy three or four years old was tryin' to operate a candy machine and hurt his fin'er. He started cryin' and his mother, in baby tal!, started sayin'E #5et mommy !iss it so it will stop hurtin'.+ Certainly a mother*s love and !isses are blessed and soothin', and praise God for the tenderness he instills in a lovin' mother. was standin' near enou'h to reach his hurt fin'er and as touched it softly said # n Jesus name, pain, rebu!e you.+ nstantly the pain was 'one and he stopped cryin'. Thin! of the impact we can have by 'ivin' Jesus the opportunity to bless little children today Bust li!e he did A,=== years a'o. /e can teach them to !now Jesus is always available. thin! it would be 7=9

wonderful to !iss the hurt fin'er as we as! Jesus to be the answer to a child*s problems. #Hay, hay( ma!e a wish and turn away.+ #Hon! as you drive throu'h an underpass " for luc!.+ $nother very powerful tool of %atan to establish his ne'ative ways within us, usually at an early a'e, are unIendearin', suppressin' terms such asE 6umbIbell 6umIdum 6ummy 6odo F$ fli'htless, clumsy birdG %tupid %tupid Jer! CraLy %illy 'noramus 5ameIbrain Bird brain Flea brain > diot > Fool > %hame on you Fan innocent soundin' attempt to place a curse on someone.G > F%ee -att. HEA7 IAA Cuoted above.G /e found a real live eMample of the effect of these terms in our own home and hopefully we have Bust about overcome it. 0ur Joanie has a bi' brother, Tom. Tom constantly substituted names when spea!in' to Joanie li!e #stupid,+ #dumdum+ #Boc!o+ #yo yo,+ all words to suppress mentally. 7=<

Joanie first came into my life as my dau'hter at a'e siMteen and noticed she always felt inferior in intelli'ence. %he would ma!e remar!s li!e # *m Bust not smart enou'h to learn that( *m Bust not 'oin' to be able to pass that subBect( don*t thin! could ever ma!e it throu'h colle'e.+ learned very soon that Joanie had one of the sharpest, practical and intelli'ent minds had !nown. realiLed that the innocentIsoundin' terms, coupled with the eMceedin'ly hi'h P of Tom, had so suppressed Joanie*s opinion of her own intellect that she was bein' pushed into an ima'inary corner of inadeCuacy and actually becomin' what she had been #innocently+ called. Frances and be'an encoura'in' her and assurin' her of her #brain capacity+ and divertin' references to a ne'ative power. %atan is always ne'ative( Jesus is always positive. %atan ma!es the ne'ative appear positive. heard her one day answer the phone #this is dumI dum.+ Puic!ly as!ed her to correct any reference by her friends to such names. told her to have them call her #smartIsmart.+ -ore recently when Tom*s son 6avid was learnin' to tal!, Tom had him referrin' to himself as #dumbIalli'ator.+ /e told him about our lon' and difficult stru''le to overcome the ne'ative effect this had on Joanie. The neMt time we heard from little 6avid he was callin' himself #smart alli'ator!+ Frances and were havin' dinner with Joan and Bob Fher husbandG, and Bob*s sister -artha the ni'ht after be'an writin' this chapter. be'an ma!in' notes as they tal!ed at the dinner table, eMtractin' #shootIcussin*+ or other phrases from 7=;

their conversation. Bob almost Cuit tal!in' as Botted down #luc!y+, #fortunately+ and a few other such terms. Then Frances said #6id you by any chance call about... .# -uch #corrective+ lau'hter followed as made a note, because one of Frances* favorite scriptures is #$nd we !now that all thin's wor! to'ether for 'ood to them that love God, to them who are called accordin' to his purpose.+ F2omans <EA<G FJJKG God doesn*t do thin's by chance. -artha remained somewhat Cuiet throu'h all this until remar!ed that she hadn*t said much. %he replied, # *m afraid to spea! for fear *ll shoot' cuss," believe that if we use these pseudoIChristian terms and phrases, we 'ive 'lory to %atan and encoura'e within ourselves and others the activities of spirits. /e ma!e it seem #all ri'ht+ or #normal+ to play around with %atan*s tools. /e mi'ht try to call this a #white+ abomination unto God li!e we attempt to ma!e a misleadin' statement, or sli'ht lie sacred by ta''in' it with a #sanctified+ label of a #white lie.+ f we need to add to our speech, why not add words and phrases to eMalt Jesus and to 'ive praise and 'lory to God " where all praise and all 'lory and all honor belon'. don*t hesitate to eMpress to my C&$ clients terms say because they are in my heart, such asE HalleluBah &raise the 5ord &raise Jesus $men Glory 77=

Than! you, Jesus $nd our own special ones. Han' 5oose with Jesus God is Fabulous! commented to an attorney client about this #shootIcussin*+ chapter one day by sayin' was 'oin' to put some of his terms in the boo!. Just a few days a'o as left his office he included #HalleluBah!+ in his partin' comment. turned Cuic!ly bac! and told him would put him in the boo! a'ain! He said, #But that isn*t re'ular.+ replied # t can be!+ #2emember what Christ tau'ht and let his words enrich your lives and ma!e you wise( teach them to each other and sin' them out in psalms and hymns and spiritual son's, sin'in' to the 5ord with than!ful hearts. $nd whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the 5ord Jesus, and come with him into the presence of God the Father to 'ive him your than!s.+ FColossians :E74I7 9G

777

GLORY+ HALLELU"AH!!! LITTLE BITTY Cha!les

God is relentless in his transformin' power when we #want+ to follow his laws and honestly see! his way for our lives. Frances and casually discussed sometime durin' the few days we were to'ether Bust before we were married, a subBect which seemin'ly had little si'nificance but which became one of the most difficult problems of my life. 3ven now it*s hard to call it by its true name " +3G0+, the # + or self of a person, especially when that person is #me.+ $nd even more especially when # + want to be captain of my soul instead of lettin' Jesus be !in' of my life. Come to thin! of it, %atan became who he is for the same reason! He lost! want to win my battle. %atan was thrown out of heaven li!e a bolt of li'htnin' because of his e'o. prefer to be roc!eted into heaven because of Jesus! ,eatly tuc!ed under the 'lass top of my des! in my home study Fby my FrancesG, ri'ht where see it every time sit at my des!, is a printed invitation which readsE You are invited to meet and hear Frances Gardner Hunter (and Charles too,) $*;0:$Y /2/)+)G ' )<2/M8/0 7<,7;9A 8an=uet 0oom of Holiday +nn )orth at 7'8= 90$Y/0 H<;0 -egins at H 9M 8uffet (>A.;H) in 0estaurant at 4#74 9M ( ongs -y Young 9eo.le during 8uffet) 77A

<ld Fashioned <)G /02+C/ ' 8an=uet F/11<( H+9 and 9/$?/0 at < 9.M. Come to all or any .art as Christ leads. Frances lovin'ly helps me face this situation honestly by indicatin' with a )little bitty+ space between her thumb and forefin'er #little bitty Charles.+ /e had made all arran'ements for spea!ers as a team, all our letters clearly indicated this. 0ur correspondence hi'hli'hted it, our stationery showed it, our publicity pictures and news release proclaimed it, our telephone calls with the director of the meetin' and his reply pointed it out " in fact, everythin' loo!ed Bust ri'ht about our reception as a #team+ and it made me feel real good inside until " at the last minute saw the little bitty #and Charles too!+ tic!ets, was crushed! For a while my insides felt li!e everyone in the world had seen this invitation. God wanted me to see not Bust #little bitty Charles,+ but he !new #self+ must be dead before Jesus could have full control. %elf can never be made small enou'h for Jesus to live with " it must be removed to ma!e room for him only. God told 3Le!ielE #There is special meanin' in each detail of what have told you to do... .# F3Le!iel :E8G Then God told him to lie on his left side for 8;= days and on his ri'ht side for := days, demonstratin' a point he wanted to ma!e to the sraelites. n my search for God*s control over my life, didn*t have to 'o throu'h :8= days li!e 3Le!iel did( God dealt with me for three years and tau'ht me that #there is special meanin' in each

778

detail of what he told me to do+ " includin' #little bitty Charles!+ 6urin' the first wonderful year of my new life when was meditatin' so constantly in the Bible certain scriptures were bri'htly focused into my mind by the Holy %pirit. could not understand at the time why God so stron'ly stressed them, yet !new he was drawin' my attention to them for a purpose. would read, as! God their deep meanin' and 'o bac! to them a'ain and a'ain and still not find their meanin' in my life. This points out a tremendous meanin' of the verse #Thy /ord have hid in my heart, that mi'ht not sin a'ainst thee.+ F&salm 77;E77 JJKG. didn*t try to memoriLe those #focused+ verses but God #hid+ them in my heartI mind for the time he would recall them for my understandin'. 0ne such verse was #He who is 'reatest amon' you shall be your servant( whoever eMalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be eMalted.+ F-att. A8E77I7A 2%KG. 5ittle did realiLe how would need to be reminded of this but God !new how he would have to brea! me all the way. sincerely felt had 'iven all to Jesus because so wanted to be his disciple. thou'ht humility was one of my 'reatest traits F was probably a little proud of bein' so humbleG. tried to demonstrate bein' humble to my partners and staff, to my clients and their employees and to my wife. was really willin' to be a servant for Jesus! Then God chan'ed the whole course of my life! $ minister brou'ht me a little boo! to read which he felt would brin' cheer into what many thou'ht was 77:

a dar! period in my life. $ctually, it was the sunrise of my life and in it was no dar!ness. This little boo! was called #God s Fabulous+ by a -iami businesswoman. lau'hed and cried my way throu'h it. Here was another person who had discovered the same miraculous life had found. !new someday would meet that person. God had introduced me to my beloved Frances throu'h her boo!, even before he told me anythin' of his plans. Then he introduced us in person! $s we approached the date of our marria'e we made a famous #innocent, insi'nificant+ Fso thou'htG decisionE Frances had three best sellin' boo!s all bearin' the author*s name #Frances Gardner.+ 0ur discussion concluded FhumblyG that she would continue to write and spea! under the pen name #Frances Gardner+ since she was already !nown by that name. /e a'reed that this would leave our private lives free of the public influence so we could be Bust what we wanted, #-r. and -rs. Charles Hunter.+ Frances said #Charles, you are 'oin' to face many problems about this. .our e'o will bother you when you are not reco'niLed as my husband.+ assured her there could not possibly be any problem because when you are fully yielded to God, #self+ must always be dead. Besides, the Bible said if you want to be 'reat, you must be humble. /e were married a day or two later, moved to Houston and be'an our life as -r. and -rs. Charles Hunter. t was so beautiful and peaceful and my only lon'in' was that God would let us be to'ether more. %he was away from home over half the time the first siM months of our marria'e. 77H

suppose about siM wee!s had passed and Frances was in the 3astern part of the 1nited %tates and had 'one to Corpus Christi, TeMas to see my parents for one day Fmy 6ad was critically illG. anMiously returned home because !new would have a letter waitin' for me because Frances always wrote and called every day. $s soon as 'ot home, my heart thrilled as tore open the letter from my %weetheart. 5ove Bust 'ushed from the paper and my heart was li'ht and full of her love and the love of God and Christ Jesus she shared with me. Then loo!ed at some enclosures, newspaper clippin's, bulletins, announcements, etc. 0ne clippin' was a frontIpa'e article and picture of my own sweet wife. 1nder the picture was the caption #Frances Gardner spea!s.+ t was li!e a bolt of li'htnin' struc! dead center in my heart. The li'ht had felt as read the letter suddenly turned to dar!ness. For about thirty minutes couldn*t sha!e the feelin'. be'an to cry with loneliness and 'rief. $ deep depression came over me. don*t believe ever felt worse. rushed to our bedroom, fell on my !nees and cried out to God # f this is %atan, 'et him out of here, and Father, draw near to me!+ nstantly a beautiful peace flooded my soul and it was li!e depression and dar!ness had suddenly been suc!ed away by a 'iant vacuum cleaner and li'ht flooded into my heart and soul! /hat a difference! How very important it is for the Holy %pirit to put the /ord of God in the storehouse of our hearts " had read and meditated hundreds of hours and in my time of need the meanin' of two verses were recalled by the Holy %pirit, and was delivered! #%ubmit yourselves 774

therefore to God. 2esist the devil and he will flee from you. 6raw near to God and he will draw near to you.+ FJames :E9I<G F2%KG. Just now as referred bac! to the Bible to copy the above scripture, the meanin' of which had hidden in my heart, loo!ed at verse 4, Bust above itE #But he 'ives more 'race( therefore it says, @God o..oses the .roud, -ut gives grace to the hum-le.7 #God is relentless, isn*t heD thou'ht that problem of the name #Gardner+ was shortIlived, and was 'lad. But still it was in my mind. God had so Cuic!ly come to my rescue that his love and presence overshadowed the realiLation that didn*t want to be married to Frances #Gardner+ " wanted her to be Frances Hunter all the time. That ni'ht Frances called and before told her anythin' of my adventure, she said that afternoon she realiLed she wanted nothin' more than to be the wife of Charles Hunter. %he said she didn*t want to be Frances Gardner, she wasn*t Frances Gardner and she wanted to immediately ma!e such chan'es as were needed to put this into effect. God had spo!en to both of us in different ways by sayin' eMactly the same thin' to each, even thou'h we were more than a thousand miles apart physically, yet one in Jesus and one in marria'e. Closely connected with this intense desire to have Frances as my very own, came another attac! by %atan. love the way God ta!es all the battles the devil starts and maneuvers them into a victory to carry out his strate'y for our life.

779

/e had been married less than two months when Frances started on a thirtyIthree day tour of the central and western part of the 1nited %tates. %he had boo!ed this tour lon' before. /e were so completely sure that God was in char'e of our lives that no matter what he wanted us to do, we were willin' to do it, even if it meant bein' apart. Joan and accompanied Frances for the first three days on a wee!Iend. can assure you the fiery darts of the wic!ed are 'enuine and can penetrate your very heart eMcept for the shield of protection God always has around his children. $s we entered the front of the church where Frances was spea!er, she was 'reeted eMuberantly " +&raise the 5ord, -rs. Gardner, we*re thrilled to have you+ and away they whis!ed her, leavin' Joanie and me standin' alone. felt totally abandoned by Frances, i'nored by #her+ public, and separated from bein' any part of her or her ministry. was ta!en to a %unday %chool class later that mornin' where shared how God had transformed my life as met Jesus in a personal way. .et, inside was lonely and my attitude wasn*t the most lovin' toward those who too! her from me. 5oneliness is actually what we find when we ta!e our eyes off Jesus and loo! at ourselves( that is never a scenic view. Then came the intermission between services and was bac! with Frances for a few minutes and felt could never stand bein' separated a'ain. But here came the pastor and said #come on Frances, let*s 'o to the front+ " and he Fthe minister " saw him as a monsterG fled away with my bride, and a'ain was alone. 77<

That afternoon Joan and had to leave Frances for that lon' thirty more days " and ni'hts, which were worse than the days if that was possible. ,ever have had my heart torn so much as when we parted. could see for the first time it had the same effect on her. /e both cried in the arms of each other. The neMt day Frances called and sounded eMcited as she told of the miracles of chan'ed lives and then told of a wealthy Christian F had met him that wee!IendG ta!in' her throu'h a hu'e, luMurious apartment proBect God had 'iven him, and how God had so beautifully provided that he would fly her in his private twin en'ine plane a few hundred miles away to her neMt en'a'ement. $fter the call, there came a barra'e of fiery darts and could hardly stand the thou'ht of someone else bein' with her so much when was not there. $ million thou'hts FdartsG shot at my mindIheart and was miserable and 'rowin' worse as the ni'ht hours slowly moved alon' while waited for her late ni'ht call. felt a Bealousy flarin' up in my inner bein'. reasoned that it was not a Bealousy of the preacher, or the businessman, but Bust a Bealousy of those people who had her when didn*t. 0ne thin' !new without a doubt " there was no Cuestion of her loyalty and faithfulness to me, yet she was there and was a thousand miles away " alone. decided couldn*t add to her lon' hours by tellin' her of my stru''le. Besides, couldn*t tell her there was Bealousy in me! Then the phone ran' and we had hardly said we loved each other before !new to be totally honest 77;

must tell her my innermost thou'hts and attitudes. opened my heart to her as tears burst from my eyes and my voice, and as soon as finished, and admitted there was some !ind of Bealousy in me, she immediately said # !now, honey. already !new before you called.+ !now her heart was torn more than mine. %he Bust be'an to pray to God the most heartIfelt outpourin' cry to him *ve ever heard, and so full of love. wish had the full prayer to share with you. %ince it was not recorded, let me share the letter wrote her the neMt mornin'E HE:H $.-. AIAH of Fabulous 7;9= Good -ornin' -y Heavenly /ife, My weetheart, 1ast nite after midnite + was a .art of the most -eautiful love miracle God ever .oured out on any human, *han4 God that the &ealous nature in me stuc4 its head out -ecause of my e6clusive devotion to you, &ust long enough for God to a-sor- it through you, then through Christ and into God himself as it was washed away in the most -eautiful .rayer of love ever uttered from the very heart of a woman. )ever -efore has a man -een so wonderfully -lessed as God has -lessed me. (hen love comes so totally from your heart which was made to love me -y the very act of God as he gave you to me on <cto-er 8, 7;4; when his Holy .irit, your holy s.irit and my s.irit made holy -y his love -lended so .urely% that love has -een so refined and .urified and filtered that it is genuinely holy love and no greater love has ever e6isted. *hat is the 7A=

reason + so--ed last nite and again as + write this this morning as God -athes my soul to .urify and cleanse my heart of the sin of &ealousness -ecause + as4ed him to cleanse it. *hrough your .rayer last nite it was so miraculously removed. + .ray that it will never again e6ist in me certainly it has no cause to e6ist and that was made even .lainer -y your e6.ression of a great and wonderful love last nite. Had you -een .hysically in my arms where + want so much for you to -e, you could not have -een so close to me -ecause + felt your s.irit and mine were one, .resent in me. *his is actually so -ecause Christ said as the Father is in me, + am in you% and in !ohn 7H#8': (which + read to !oan last nite and which God7s Holy .irit o.ened the 8i-le to &ust now) 3You are already made clean -y the word which + have s.o4en to you. $-ide in me and + in you." weetheart, you 4now how aware + am of the assured fact that my love for you and yours for me was and is from the -eginning wholly of God and that + have a-solutely no dou-t of this. *here has never e6isted any cause for me to dou-t the com.leteness of your love for me, and so even as the devil ste..ed in last nite (and actually he has used this same attac4 -efore) + had no reason to dou-t your com.lete love, faithfulness and loyalty to me% -ut +7m glad God, as he so often does, used the devil to -ring out a sin, so that he could reveal himself to me in yet another way. + love him and you, and + guess -ecause he ordained your love for me, this love is one and the same. + had never -efore heard the e6clusiveness of love of a woman for her one man e6.ressed so vividly as when you said in your 7A7

.rayer (really a .rayer through Christ and God to me) that all other men are nothing -ut flesh to you. 8a-y, you can -e a-solutely sure that this is so in my love for you + love you so very, very dee.ly, and you 4now how that love -egan as + .rayed to God that if he wanted me to love you, he would cause me to fall dee.ly in love with you, -eyond any love + could imagine or 4now% then how for three days + .hysically felt this love start flowing through my veins till + was so soon, dee.ly in love with you% my love continues to grow dee.er and dee.er till + cannot imagine its de.th and yet it continues to grow. (hat a magnificent God we serve and how true he s.o4e when he said if we would -ring ourselves 7==A to him (full tithes into the storehouse), .ut him to the test, he would o.en the windows of heaven for us and .our down for us an overflowing -lessing. $nd then to show how he will .urify a sin of &ealousy he continued in Malachi 8#77 to say 3+ will re-u4e the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil% and your vine in the field shall not fail to -ear." /ve and $dam let the devourer destroy their fruit, -ut through our 1ord !esus Christ whom we -oth love so much, our love will always flourish in our garden of God7s love made -y God &ust for our own and for -oth of us together. + love you with all my heart, mind, soul, and -ody, .our Charles Frances felt the impact of this stru''le within me and !new at the heart of it all was the #self+ of the man she loved. %he wanted so much to be the 7AA

submissive wife to the husband who wanted to be her husband and to be the head of the house, privile'ed to love her and protect her. But more than our burnin' love for each other was our constrainin' love of God, and we both !new we must in all thin's put God first. ,either of us would have considered her withdrawin' from the life God 'ave her to share with a world so in need of !nowin' an eMcitin', livin' Jesus. %he saw clearly that at every turn the name Gardner was flounced in my face, ever remindin' me that we were separated by a name and yet one in flesh. be'an cryin' to God to ta!e away all of my resistance to that name. said #no matter what you have to do to rid me of my attitude about it, 'et it out of my life forever. f *m not 'ettin' into the Bible enou'h, !eep me awa!e all ni'ht if you have to, but clear this out of my life. Just 'ive me enou'h sleep to !eep me 'oin'.+ That ni'ht wo!e up about two o*cloc! and 'ot ri'ht out of bed and read the Bible for almost two hours. t was in the 0ld Testament and was eMactly what needed as the %pirit of God ministered to my need. The neMt ni'ht was a repeat, but as be'an readin' where stopped the ni'ht before, almost went to sleep and it was Bust a series of meanin'less words. said #God, that isn*t where you want me to read.+ mmediately turned to the first chapter of James and !new God had said eMactly where. 5isten to what he spo!e in my testin' periodE 3Charles Fnot 6ear BrothersG, is your life full of difficulties and temptationsD (+ said, 3God you 4now it,") Then be happy, (+ want to, God) for when the way is rou'h, (Has it ever -een 7A8

rough this wee4, Father,) your patience has a chance to 'row. F0J, Father, do anythin', but 'et my attitude about )Gardner* healedG. %o let it 'row, and don*t try to sCuirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anythin', stron' in character, full and complete.+ F0J, Father, *ll Bust turn loose, and be patient and what does it really matter what they call Frances, because !now you will do whatever is neededG. had lost seven pounds in seven days and ni'hts of stru''le. f we could Bust realiLe that the battle is the 5ord*s. He will 'ive us rest and peace if we will cease bein' self, and Bust be the temple where Jesus can live and do his wor! in us and throu'h us " +it is not who live, but Christ who lives within me.+

*harles+ TU)N %OOS#!

God provided uneMpectedly that could 'o to California in the middle of the thirty days. The be'innin' of the nine days we were to be to'ether was at Campus Crusade for Christ headCuarters in $rrowhead %prin's. /e met the man in char'e of a seminar bein' conducted durin' the day Fnot the one in which we were spea!ersG. He had never heard of Frances and this was nice because she was introduced as -rs. Hunter, my wife. He discovered from someone there that she had written several hoo!s and was a spea!er. He wanted to ta!e us to four different 'roups in study sessions to introduce us. n the first room he said #This is Frances Hunter and her husband, uhIuhIuhIah. . . .# He was embarrassed that he had for'otten my name. n the 7A:

neMt room he had full confidence, so he introduced us #This is Frances Gardner and her husband Charles Hunter.+ said #Than! you, Father " see it isn*t botherin' me at all.+ even pleasantly lau'hed about it. n the third room he said #This is Charles Gardner and his wife Frances.+ $'ain " peace! Kictory! Frances was about to crawl under the floor because hadn*t had a chance to share with her this new found peace. have for'otten the fourth introduction, but it was worse than ever. than!ed God and !new it was well worth the seven lost pounds to be rid of this #Gardner+ problem once and for all. /e finally had Frances* boo!s chan'ed to show )Frances Gardner Hunter* and felt this would surely cause people to accept our marria'e as 'enuine. But do you !now what " people who had Bust read her first boo! and who loo!ed at Frances Gardner Hunter would still call her -rs. Gardner. /e would be introduced constantly as Frances Gardner and her husband Charles Hunter. .ou are ri'ht " where did that peace and victory 'oD would Cuic!ly Fand sometimes curtlyG correct them. 0ne ni'ht a pastor introduced us as Frances Gardner and her husband Charles Hunter and corrected him in front of his church, lau'hin' and teasin' him. He was so disturbed that at the end of the service he carefully stressed his than!s to Frances H;)*/0 and Charles #Gardner!!!+ rushed up to him because of the sudden flush in his face as he realiLed what he said, shoo! his hand in front of the lau'hin' con're'ation and tried to dispel his frustration.

7AH

The more have tried to correct the problem, the more it is a''ravated. That*s eMactly what happens when we earnestly, sincerely as! God to solve a problem and instead of leavin' it in his hands, we ta!e it bac! and try to do it our way. God is real, you !now FCharlesG and he is Cuite capable of controllin' people*s minds. He can chan'e any situation eMistin' so easily, and wants to. He wants much more to deal with us until we trust his reality. /hy can*t we #turn loose+ of our problems and let him do it his wayD /hy do we !eep holdin' on to self when we !now we must turn looseD /e have often recalled what had once written in a letter to Frances before we were marriedE # *ll be happy if God Bust calls me to do nothin' but carry your boo!s.+ Be careful what you say to God " he hears everythin'! .ou would thin! would Bust 'ive this problem to God and trust him to do the physical acts necessary to clear it out of my life. had searched my heart and wanted to release it, but someway it has come bac! a'ain and a'ain. The world has been amused and blessed by the 'arba'e problem in Jeith -iller*s life FTaste of ,ew /ineG. don*t !now which is harder to dispose of " 'arba'e or #Gardner.+ 2eally he had the same problem " it was not ta!in' out the 'arba'e " it was 'ettin' the 'arba'e of self ta!en out of him. God uses all !inds of ways to ma!e us totally submissive to him. than! and praise him for relentlessly dealin' with me. Frances has said if God had told her everythin' wron' with her the day she accepted Jesus, she would have had a heart 7A4

attac!, or run in the opposite direction. feel li!e God has won the Gardner battle at least ;;.::? in my life. FGod, hurry and 'et that last fraction of my holdin' on " should say Charles, hurry and turn loose and don*t 'rab it bac!G. The last stru''le had, and it was a small one, came a few months a'o and lau'hed out loud ri'ht in the middle of my mornin' Bible readin'. can*t recall what it was Fprobably )little -iggy Charles*G but was really tryin' to find 7==? peace about it and a'ain had as!ed God to help. He did! was meditatin' in the beautiful boo! of John that mornin', Bust drin!in' in the last instructions, promises and assurances Jesus was 'ivin' his disciples before 'oin' bac! to heaven. Then came the fifteenth chapterE Jesus said, # am the true Kine, and my Father is the G$0:)/0." There was a release within me as said #God, you are my Father, and if you are a )Gardner,* that even ma!es me a )Gardner.*! Than! you, Father.+ t wasn*t lon' after that till opened a letter addressed to -r. and -rs. Charles 3. Hunter. n it was a small chec! made payable to Charles and Frances Gardner! t surprised me, but praise God, it didn*t bother me. Frances has been so very lovin' and patient and wise throu'h this battle which could have been won very Cuic!ly and easily if had #trusted+ God completely. But what multitudes of blessin's and 'rowth have received as God has tau'ht me how to T12, 500%3 of self. s it worth the effort to die to self as God confronts us with those inner attitudes of our heart to ma!e us what he wants us to beD 5et 7A9

Jesus answer that CuestionE #$nd Jesus replied, )5et me assure you that no one has ever 'iven up anythin' " home, brother, sisters, mother, father, children, or property Fand he could add #self+G " for love of me and to tell others the Good ,ews, who won*t be 'iven bac!, a hundred times over, homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and land " with persecutions! $ll these will be his here on earth, and in the world to come he shall have eternal life.* # F-ar! 7=EA;I8=G /hoops! There he did it a'ain " Bust read the neMt verse F87G #But many people who seem to be im.ortant Fthere*s that e'o a'ainG now will be the least important then( and many who are considered least here shall be 'reatest there.+ God, accept bein' #little bitty Charles Feven Charles Gardner if people call me thatG " for your 'lory and the 'lory of Jesus. love you, Jesus!+ $s we counsel with and observe Christians, we notice many people who have the same #e'oIself+ problem. They are Bust scratchin' their way up a tree. That*s what happened to 3ve. %he wanted what #she+ wanted FselfG and not what God wanted, and scratched up the 3*ree of Conscience, 'ivin' !nowled'e of Good and Bad+ when God had provided abundance of the best of fruit on the 3*ree of 5ife+ which is Jesus! FGen. AE<I7=G /e 'et buried so deep in self that it ta!es a careful di''in' to reveal our livin' #self.+ /hen we are honest with ourselves, the Holy %pirit will clearly reveal what we are holdin'. /hen we as! God to do the miracle of crucifyin' self, we must do li!e Jesus did. God provided the plan for Jesus* 7A<

death on the cross, but Jesus was the one who #volunteered+ to be crucified. /e must be crucified with Christ, and we must volunteer our selfIdeath before Jesus can freely live his life in us and throu'h us. 2emember, it is not who live, but Christ who lives within me. The lon'est trip we can ta!e is from ourselves to Jesus, but Jesus said we must ta!e the scenic route " the narrow way " the Hi'hway of Holiness. 5u!e 7:EA4IA9 tells a'ain #$nyone who wants to be my follower must love me far more than he does his own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters " yes, more than his own life otherwise he cannot -e my disci.le." Have learned anythin' from #5 TT53 B TT. CharlesD+ .es! 3G0 H$% T0 G0!!!!!

7A;

AND GOD SAID UNTO ME,,,,

dedicate this chapter particularly to those business men and women, but not to the eMclusion of everyone else, who are willin' to relinCuish the mana'ement of their particular business or Bob to Jesus " the same Jesus to whom God relinCuished the mana'ement of the earth, the universe, heaven, and in fact everythin' that was, and is, and is to come, everywhere. Can we trust HimD 5u!e 7=EA7IAA #hen he was filled with the joy of the 7oly 3pirit and said, % praise you, 0 +ather, Lord of hea"en and earth, for hiding these things from the intellectuals and worldly wise and for re"ealing them to those who are as trusting as little children. 4es, thank you, +ather, for that is the way you wanted it. % am the gent of my +ather in e"erything and no one really knows the 3on e$cept the +ather, and no one really knows the +ather e$cept the 3on and those to whom the 3on chooses to re"eal him.* /e hear much about prayer " how to tal! to God, but we need to find that sure way of hearin' God when he spea!s to us. believe God hears every thou'ht and every uttered prayer. He hears when we don*t even thin! we are prayin', as well as when we !now we are. How he answers, when he answers, where he answers, how much he answers... how can we 78=

business people, or we. mothers with children, or husbands and wives, or children and parents, how can we reach heaven with prayers and hear God when he answersD God spo!e to prophets. 5oo! at 6aniel 7=E9I7:E %, .aniel, alone saw this great "ision; the men with me saw nothing, but they were suddenly filled with unreasoning terror and ran to hide, and % was left alone. When % saw this frightening "ision my strength left me, and % grew pale and weak with fright. #hen he spoke to me, and % fell to the ground face downward in a deep faint. !ut a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees. nd % heard his "oice A *0 .aniel, greatly belo"ed of (od,* he said, stand up and listen carefully to what % ha"e to say to you, for (od has sent me to you.* 3o % stood up, still trembling with fear. #hen he said, .on)t be frightened, .aniel, for your reBuest has been heard in hea"en and was answered the "ery first day you began to fast before the Lord and pray for understanding; that "ery day % was sent here to meet you. !ut for twenty?one days the mighty ,"il 3pirit who o"errules the kingdom of 2ersiaa blocked my way. #hen Michael, one of the top officers of the hea"enly army, came to help me, so that % was able to break through these spirit rulers of 2ersia. % am here to tell you what will happen to your people, the Jews, at the end times A for the fulfillment of this prophecy is many years away.* 787

First of all we must want to hear what he wants us to do. /hen we are wor!in' for Jesus, instead of our allItooIusual way of feelin' he is wor!in' for us, then we ta!e a different approach to reach heaven in prayer. Before 'ave everythin' to God, it was difficult to 'ive 78? of my income to him. ,ow that he has it all, have no stru''le " Bust as! him how he wants me to mana'e his money. /hen hear Frances* testimony rarely hear one part without feelin' God*s &resence powerfully. %he learned from the Holy %pirit the same thin' God had used with such an impact to turn my life around. %he had prayed " +God, don*t let it hurt when they operate on my eye.+ Then a short time later F *m sure the Holy %pirit put these words in her heart and mindG she held up her open hand to God and said, #God, 'ive me bac! that prayer. /hen 'et out of this hospital *ll spend the rest of my life seein' what + can do for you, and not what you can do for me." $s a nonIChristian she had said the secret of the Christian life. $nd she meant it! Twelve hundred miles away and three years later, a stran'er to her, but not to God, learned the same principle that God has shown her. -editate on this principle until you reach the very foundation of its full meanin'. This reverses our entire prayer communication.

Man's *o,,unication %ost

/hen God created the earth, he was pleased. /hen God created birds, fish and animals, he was pleased. 78A

/hen God made man and maid, he was pleased. These were all made in utter perfection. God and man wal!ed in perfect harmony on his perfect earth, and they tal!ed to each other in perfect holy communication. ,othin' needed to be chan'ed " ever! But sin of man made a perfect environment between a perfect God and a once perfect man, imperfect, and the #better than telephone wires+ between heaven and earth were bro!en. But Jesus established a new creation, a new !in'dom of heaven on earth He 'ave us instant two way communication with God, t*s throu'h Jesus, and by usin' his ,ame, that we can 'o into the very presence of God and have personal tal!s with him " and he with us. -en and women are now brou'ht into eMistence throu'h the reproductive desi'n God used from the very be'innin'. 5ife came to man when God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life( " and man became a livin' soul, or livin' bein'. /e !now that this human body and mind is the most fantastic functionin' #thin'+ !nown to man!ind. ,o roc!et, no machine, no bomb, no electronic instrument, no computer can ever measure up to the GodIcreated man. ,o wonder God was pleased. nto this selfIcontained manIunit, God put the #brain,+ its central control system. %cientists and physicians cannot fathom its eMpanse nor its capabilities, nor match its speed or accuracy, t is a twoIway communication system intricately connected to every part of the body, to every tiny cell of the body and is in absolute control of 788

everythin' inside the body in its healthy state. n a microIinstant of time a complete twoIway #conversation+ ta!es place between a toe someone Bust stepped on and the brain control when the toe screams to its master #help, *m hurt!+ 2i'ht bac! from central comes the answer " #.es, !now+( and microIsimultaneously the brain tells the hands and fin'ers to 'et down there Cuic! and 'et the other 'uy*s foot off yours. $t the same time your brain tells your bac! to start bendin', and your eyes to watch where you are 'oin'. t tells your radar senses to watch that your head doesn*t hit the chair arm on the way down. %imultaneously it tells the mouth to say, #ooooooo+ or if your mind is correctly on Jesus to send up to God that #as! and you shall receive+ si'nal by announcin', #Jesus, do somethin'!+ 0ther parts of your mind are observin' the siLe of the foot on yours, whether it*s there intentionally or by accident and no tellin' what else is 'oin' on in this totally coordinated creation, even to the resurrection of attitudes and of events of the past! f croo!ed my fin'er at you, it would really not be my fin'er ma!in' that 'esture. -y brain directs every action of every part of my physical bein'. f my body functions normally, each part obeys my mind without Cuestionin'. They were created to carry out the orders of my brain. They are there to serve me and each other. They are servants, Bust as in Jesus* day wealthy men owned other people as slaves. The slaves were theirs and had to obey their every wish and command. Jesus was one such slave. He was owned and controlled by his Father God. He 78:

carried out in intricate detail every sin'le instruction God 'ave him. He was a 'ood servant and wanted to serve his -aster. Jesus chose certain people to serve him while he was on earth. /hat a hi'h honor that was. Then he made those same servants his friends. The brain is in control of all to which it is master every second of man*s physical life. $nd still deeper inside even than the brain, and more powerful, and more completely the master of this created #tent+ is the real, everlastin' man " the spirit. This spirit, superior to all else of this created bein', is controlled by its master. n healthy state, this spirit is controlled by the Holy %pirit " God*s %pirit. %o beautiful and perfect is God*s #man+ that when properly submitted to the total control of God, his Holy %pirit is mer'ed into man*s spirit to become one. $nd there God dwells, in residence, in our spirit, livin' within our body. /e are the temple of God. #For in Christ there is all of God in a human body( so you have everythin' when you have Christ, and you are filled with God throu'h your union with Christ. He is the hi'hest 2uler, with authority over every other power.+ FCol. AE;I7=G #-y prayer for all of them is that they will be of one heart and mind, Bust as you and are, Father " that Bust as you are in me, and am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me. . . .# 7 have 'iven them the 'lory you 'ave me " the 'lorious unity of bein' one, as we are " in them and you in me, all bein' perfected into one " so that the world will !now you sent me and will understand that you love them as much as you love me " these you*ve 'iven me " so that they can see 78H

my 'lory. .ou 'ave me the 'lory because you loved me before the world be'an.+ FJohn 79EA7 IA:G The human mind wants to please the human body and 'ive to it its desires. The spirit has a GodI installed 'yroscope which causes it to see! God and to please him. 0ur human minds were 'iven a free will or choice to please our spirit*s master " God or %atan. /e must choose one or the other " there is no third choice. f there was a third choice, we could choose to ma!e ourselves master. /hen we want to please self, we are pleasin' %atan. /hen we want to please God, we must deny ourselves. Jesus saidE # f anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him deny himself and ta!e up his cross and follow me.+ F-att. 74EA:G Galatians HE74I7 <E % ad"ise you to obey only the 7oly 3pirit)s instructions. 7e will tell you where to go and what to do, and then you won)t always be doing the wrong things your e"il nature wants you to. +or we naturally lo"e to do e"il things that are just the opposite from the things that the 7oly 3pirit tells us to do; and the good things we want to do when the 3pirit has his way with us are just the opposite of our natural desires. #hese two forces within us are constantly fighting each other to win control o"er us, and our wishes are ne"er free from their pressures. you are guided by the 7oly 3pirit you need no longer force yourself to obey Jewish laws.

784

$ll my life could picture God spea!in' audibly to -oses, 3liBah, ,oah and the others in the Bible. ,ever once did thin! he mi'ht have spo!en #thou'ht+ messa'es " voiceless messa'es into their minds. ,ow it seems reasonable to me that when God told $braham to start toward a land, the location of which he didn*t !now, for a purpose he hadn*t been told fully, it would not have ta!en faith if God had sat down on a lo' with him and audibly spo!en to him. believe the Holy %pirit spo!e to him eMactly as he does to us today. t ta!es faith to !now you hear him and a very receptive mind and spirit to actually hear. Faith becomes substance when acted upon, without !nowin', but simply trustin'. learn to trust more by actin' upon the faith have " whether lar'e or small. f miss, don*t let it embarrass me " if hit and a miracle occurs, praise God and tell others what he has done. f don*t act, nothin' happens. /e have a protective shield around usE #The steps of 'ood men are directed by the 5ord. He deli'hts in each step they ta!e. f they fall it isn*t fatal, for the 5ord holds them with his hand.+ F&salms 89EA8G God would rather have us listen to him for instructions than to double our church 'ivin'. #0bedience is far better than sacrifice. He is much more interested in your listenin' to him than in your offerin' the fat of rams to him.+ F %am. 7HEAAG f we want to hear God Fand he does want us to hear himG it is Cuite a normal way of GodIlife to have him 'uide us in decisions. f am supervisin' men of my staff, tell them what want done, to some de'ree how to do it( then 789

review their wor!. don*t do it all for them " remember they wor! for me. The same is true with Jesus " he #supervises+ our wor! and 'uides us. f my employee can*t ma!e a decision because of his lesser !nowled'e, or his lesser eMperience in ma!in' decisions, either help him, or ma!e the decision myself. /e can 'o to Jesus, our supervisor, for a decision, or for hel. in ma!in' decisions. These decisions must always be made or placed into our human mind " our brain. $s we accumulate !nowled'e of our chosen profession or field of wor!, we store that into our brain for future use. The more information stored in the mind, the more facts we can apply in ma!in' a decision. /e must not only store them in our memory ban!, but we must be able to sort the facts, select the right ones, apply them to the circumstance of the moment, then ma!e a Bud'ment. This can all be accomplished by our mind. f need to !now what A plus A eCuals, my mind simply recalls a formula or a memoriLed fact and !now the answer. This is done by thin!in'. God has the ability to place thou'hts into the human mind, and so does %atan. /e need to be able to distin'uish our thou'hts, God*s thou'hts and %atan*s thou'hts. n Car. AE7I74, loo! at the ways &aul eMplains about the Holy %pirit spea!in' " *ll underline them for you. 5oo! for ways you can !now he spea!s to youE C02 ,TH $,%I74 ., - !-0#7,-3, ,D,1 when % first came to you % didn)t use lofty words and brilliant ideas to 78<

tell you (od)s message. +or % decided that % would speak only of Jesus ;hrist and his death on the cross. % came to you in weakness A timid and trembling. my preaching was "ery plain, not with a lot of oratory and human wisdom, but the 7oly 3pirit)s power was in my words, pro"ing to those who heard them that the message was from (od. % did this because % wanted your faith to stand firmly upon (od, not on man)s great ideas. 4et when % am among mature ;hristians % do speak with words of great wisdom, but not the kind that comes from here on earth, and not the kind that appeals to the great men of this world, who are doomed to fall. words are wise because they are from (od, telling of (od)s wise plan to bring us into the glories of hea"en. #his plan was hidden in former times, though it was made for our benefit before the world began. !ut the great men of the world ha"e not understood it; if they had, they ne"er would ha"e crucified the Lord of (lory. #hat is what is meant by the 3criptures which say that no mere man has e"er seen, heard or e"en imagined what wonderful things (od has ready for those who lo"e the Lord. we know about these things because (od has sent his 3pirit to tell us, and his 3pirit searches out and shows us all of (od)s deepest secrets. 1o one can really know what anyone else is thinking, or what he is really like, e$cept that person himself. nd no one can know (od)s thoughts e$cept (od)s own 3pirit. nd (od has actually gi"en us his 3pirit <not the world)s spirit@ to tell us about the 78;

wonderful free gifts of grace and blessing that (od has gi"en us. %n telling you about these gifts we ha"e e"en used the "ery words gi"en to us by the 7oly 3pirit, not words that we as men might choose. 3o we use the 7oly 3pirit)s words to e$plain the 7oly 3pirit)s facts. the man who isn)t a ;hristian can)t understand and can)t accept these thoughts from (od, which the 7oly 3pirit teaches us. #hey sound foolish to him, because those who ha"e the 7oly 3pirit within them can understand what the 7oly 3pirits means. 0thers just can)t take it in. !ut the spiritual man has insight into e"erything, and that bothers and baffles the man of the world, who can)t understand him at all. could he' +or certainly he has ne"er been one to know the Lord)s thoughts, or to discuss them with him, or to mo"e the hands of (od by prayer. !ut, strange as it seems, we ;hristians actually do ha"e within us a portion of the "ery thoughts and mind of ;hrist. /hen Frances and as! for a messa'e from God, we #unLip+ our mind li!e openin' our head with a Lipper. /e don*t try to thin!, but are receptive to the thou'hts or messa'es from God. .es, to the mind not controlled by the Holy %pirit, this seems foolish, but it wor!s! would li!e to be so #in the %pirit+ at all times that could always 'et an immediate answer from him. But then, mi'ht want to ma!e him my slave. He !nows how to wor! best with us. God has spo!en to me audibly once, in silent words several times, in thou'hts most of the time, 7:=

by floodin' me with peace, by bathin' me in a bath of love, by revealin' spiritual meanin's in the Bible, by simply puttin' an answer into my mind without my awareness, and many other ways. But predominantly he spea!s when my heart Fmy spiritG is see!in' ways can serve him. %ome of these have been for my comfort or to please me. He wants to do that, too, you !now. would li!e to share a few ways have )heard* God*s instructions. &erhaps you have many other ways you have received answers. The Holy %pirit is wantin' us to listen, and when we sincerely as!, he will answer. /e can never operate in the supernatural realm as lon' as we stay in the realm where we can seemin'ly do it without God. am adventuresome. Before we were 'iven a miracle ministry, we prayed for the healin' of diseases, inBuries and sic!ness. God would heal a person every once in awhile, then more freCuently. /e tal!ed with each other about what was happenin' " and why and how. /hat was chan'in'D /e were aware that the power to heal came as a result of the Baptism of the Holy %pirit. By studyin' the way Jesus, &eter, James and John prayed, we be'an to see what we were doin' that was similar to what they were doin'. f a person had a stiff nec!, we used to pray and #hope+ they 'ot healed. $s our faith increased we would as! Jesus to touch the nec!. Then in faith believin' it was healed we would say, #,ow bend your nec!, move it! Turn it from, side to side!+ /e discovered that when they acted, God acted, and miracles occurred much more freCuently. How did we hear 7:7

God spea!E by research, thou'ht, observation, eMperimentin', searchin' " our normal way of see!in' an answer to what God wanted us to do. This mornin' had a dream Bust before wo!e up F !now it was at that time because it wo!e me upG. have no idea whether this was a dream God put into my mind or not. believe God can do this because he did it to Jacob " remember his ladderD God said #. . . old men shall dream dreams.+ F$cts AE79G am very careful about placin' confidence in a dream because it*s easy to 'et hun' up. -ost dreams probably come from eatin' too much too late, or come such thin', instead of from God. n my life 'enerally i'nore them other than to tell Frances about them if they are interestin'. This mornin' was awa!ened by a dream " and with a bad attitude. Here is the dream " and my reaction. /e were in a hu'e auditorium pac!ed with people, the preliminaries of the service we were to conduct were already underway and it was about two minutes before we were to be on sta'e. /e always li!e to be alone to'ether, prayin' and praisin' God, 'ivin' him our minds so we can hear him tell us what we are to say and do. ,ot so this time! /e 'ot separated and was rushin' to try to 'et with her( discovered didn*t have my coat and tie on. They had been wadded up and pitched on a dusty table " half way across the buildin'. was searchin' everywhere at once and when finally 'ot to where Frances was, she was as busy and frustrated as . %he was sittin' at a little des!, thumbin' rapidly throu'h the yellow pa'es of a telephone directory, tal!in' to two other people at 7:A

the same time. %ome lady was sittin' neMt to her and couldn*t 'et close to her. Then " out of Frances* mouth came a curse word Fin my dreamG. was shoc!ed, hurt, bro!en hearted and sic! and said, #Frances, do you realiLe what you said!+ ,ow, no swear word has ever come out of her mouth nor entered her mind since Jesus cleaned her mind of these habits ri'ht after she met him. *m Cuite sure had this been a reality instead of a dream she would never have even thou'ht this word. But it was very real to me this mornin'. n my dream lectured her very firmly " the very idea of havin' her mind on somethin' li!e this at any time, especially Bust before we were to share the love of God with two or three thousand people " how could she do this. said you had better stay bac! sta'e awhile and as! God*s for'iveness while start the service( and suppose said more than that! Then, in my dream found my thou'hts chan'in' directions. am the one responsible to protect her from all harm, and as it says in 3ph. HEAHIA4, am to show her the same !ind of love as Christ showed his bride, the church, when he died for her " to ma4e her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God*s /ord. n my dreamI thou'hts reasoned that + should have arran'ed a time for prayer( should have been with her and should be showin' her love instead of thin!in' every hurtin' eMpression could find to point my fin'er at her. %uddenly discovered + was stirrin' up all !inds of ima'inary bad attitudes and was far deeper into the sin of bad attitudes than her dream sin of bad lan'ua'e. 7:8

Then be'an settin' aside my bad attitudes " pushin' them away and thin!in' " shouldn*t criticiLe her Fremind her, yes, but not dwell on it, belittlin' herG. Had not awa!ened, would probably have been usin' worse words than she used. That*s when wo!e up! /ould you li!e to !now what happened in my first moments awa!e. t too! a second to prime my brain into functionin' under my control. Jesus was my first thou'ht, followed immediately by tellin' him was sorry for my dream attitudes( then loo!ed at my Frances, sleepin' beautifully at my side, as innocent as a little baby! be'an than!in' God for her, for her constant tender love for him, for me, and for the people she serves. /ithin a few seconds, my whole disturbed, frustrated, ulcerated attitude was redirected into a calmness and cleanliness that was enveloped wholly in the love of God. $nd Jesus said to the stormy waves #peace, be still+ and the stormy waves of my emotions chan'ed to calm waves of devotion! /hat a difference! This was a true story that Bust happened this mornin', but let me share the reason *m writin' it in this particular chapter. t*s not important whether or not it was a dream from God or Bust one of the normal processes of a sleepy mind. t is important how God can tal! to us when we are receptive not only to hearin' his voice, but to wantin' to be in our mindIattitude as he wants us to be. He said #For God is at wor! within you, helpin' you want to obey him, and then helpin' you do what he wants.+ F&hil. AE78G

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could have awa!ened, said 'ood mornin' to Jesus, coc!ed my ear toward heaven and waited for God to spea!. would never have heard him, because, you see, he is in me, helpin' me want to o-ey him. wanted our ministry and our lives to be what he wanted. How did discover what he wantedD God spo!e to me! 2eally, you mi'ht say, didn*t read about that in what you Bust said. The %pirit of God in me had reminded me of my wron' attitude. didn*t Bust thin! of this. Because want to be li!e he wants me, am sensitive to his remindin' silent, lovin', drawin' #voice.+ He blinded and deafened the Jews because they hardened their hearts and hated his laws. They didn*t want to please God " they wanted to please themselves. God 'ave #manna+ " they wanted meat! God 'ave #Jesus+ " they wanted self! have searched with a hun'ry mind in my thou'hts, in my attitudes, in my Bible " searchin', storin' away in my heart and mind, for ways can please Jesus. search for ways to please Frances and constantly find new ways to eMpress my love, ways can ma!e her life easier, her day bri'hter " because want to. love her with all my human husband heart. learn to love God and Jesus the same way. do love them. discover little new hidden treasures of principles Jesus tau'ht. There is, for eMample, a rich vein of 'old in the one principle #Trust me and obey me.+ .ou can never deplete that 'old mine. #For if you 'ive, you will 'et+ F5u!e 4E8<G. /e 'ive to God " then he 'ives to us. 'ive to Frances, and 'et more love bac! than 'ive. By these and other little #spo!en and written+ words of God and Jesus, 7:H

have 3heard" them say " test me, try me, prove me! .es, heard that voice when searched the scriptures. Because my ears were receptive to that, other 'old nu''ets in the river bed of life washed to the surface and #heard+ more. Hearin' can come when we want to hear. /e can only want to hear when we want to obey. That*s why it was important that 'ive all of my C&$ practice to Jesus. want to operate it li!e he wants me to. $s learned to do this, discovered could hear his advice, his instructions, his thou'hts of wisdom and Bud'ment " want to do it H % /$.! By meditatin' on his specifications of how to operate our lives while in the Jin'dom of Heaven " on earth, we learn how God, by his %pirit, communicates with us. t is easy, it is practical, it is certain, it is successful. God uses the most simple, everyday, downItoI earth, uneMpected ways to open our spiritIears. %ometimes we mi'ht thin! it would be better if God occasionally missed hearin' our thou'hts. *m 'lad he doesn*t " need his discipline. 5oo! at this oneE /e have a lar'e rubber stamp which saysE

GOD IS FABULOUS
0n letters, bills, taM return envelopes and pac!a'es we mail from home, we boldly stamp these beautiful words. 7:4

had overpaid a department store about O4H.== and had no purchase for several months, so Bust left the credit balance. Finally, made a purchase on credit. The bill came while we were on an eMtended tour and someway didn*t pay it until it was 87 days old. The neMt month received a bill for believe three cents. This irritated me because don*t li!e the 7<? service char'e and interest, and always pay well on time. politely wrote a note on the bill, eMplainin' about my credit balance and that had paid it Bust one day late. as!ed that they please cancel the char'e. The neMt month received the bill with a three cent balance. This really irritated me " in fact was an'ry about it. curtly wrote them, eMplainin' the circumstances as before, addin' that had been a 'ood, on time payin' customer for years and that if they didn*t cancel the char'e would never be in the store a'ain! They should have been 'lad was a #totally dedicated Christian+ or would probably have used some words very unpleasin' to them. stuc! it in the envelope, sealed it, put a stamp on and by habit too! our special stamp, hit the in! pad and raised my arm to stamp the envelope! Then, in that li'htnin' fast way God does it, into my mind cameE #/hat will happen if you have the opportunity to witness to the cler! who reads your note about how Jesus 'ives peace, love and patience! /hat is that cler! 'oin' to thin! about your attitudeD put the rubber stamp on the des!, opened the letter, removed my memorandum, inserted a chec! for three cents, put it bac! in the envelope, carefully placed the rubber stamp on the envelope sayin'. . 7:9

GOD IS FABULOUS
God spo!e very plainly " listened intently " wanted to be li!e he wanted me to be " # continually discipline and punish everyone love( so must punish you, unless you turn from your indifference and become enthusiastic about the thin's of God.+ 2ev. 8E7;. ,otice his #two way+ communication systemD Hearin' God is by faith. That doesn*t mean we have to assume or ima'ine we hear him. /e !now we hear #H -+ when we have faith to believe he is tal!in'. God*s mi'hty Holy %pirit is 'iven to all who as! and who have been born a'ain spiritually. Faith is a 'ift which God wants to 'ive. (e have the choice and ability to accept or reBect thou'hts " our own, God*s, or the evil thou'hts of %atan. -any people as! us to pray that they will not have #nasty+ thou'hts. God is Cuic! to remind each of us of the fact that the thou'hts are nasty, even as they approach our mental reco'nition. /e can slam shut the door to our mind and loc! it to bloc! the entrance of an evil thou'ht tryin' to 'et in to rob us of our relationship to God. /e can also hear the approachin' footsteps of a thou'ht sent from God to bless us and slam shut that door to bar entrance, or throw it wide open and say welcome " 7:<

come in! /e have the choice. 0ne of the most common eMamples of this is also the 'reatest of all opportunities " we can open or shut the doorE The Holy %pirit convicts us by sayin', #you are a sinner,+ and by sayin', #you need to repent of your sins+( by promisin', #you will be for'iven of all sins if you desire and are willin' to do your part.+ Jesus says in 2ev. 8EA=, #5oo!! have been standin' at the door and am constantly !noc!in'. f anyone hears me calling him and opens the door, will come in and fellowship with him and he with me.+ t would be very unusual for us to audibly hear Jesus say that, but suppose every Christian has #heard+ Jesus say it as the Holy %pirit puts it into our minds. would challen'e anyone who really wants to 'o all the way into the depth of the %pirit /orld of God to #search their hearts and see if there be any wic!ed ways in them.+ Give their all to God, but stay in the same business they are in, unless God clearly removes them. -a!e sure they are born a'ain in Christ Jesus, accept the baptism of the Holy %pirit, spend hundred of hours in the written /ord of God, yieldin' their ways and attitudes, searchin' for new depth to do what Jesus and God want. Turn loose of %elf! then F0550/ J3%1% all the /ay! t*s my understandin' that everythin' which enters your mind remains there durin' your lifetime, whether it enters by si'ht, hearin', touch, taste or smell. t then becomes a matter of recallin' these 7:;

memory sensations stored there. That ma!es it very important what we allow to be put into our minds. Have you ever seen a li'htnin' bu' or fireflyD They are seen Bust for an instant and then the li'ht is 'one and the ima'e fades away. Try turnin' an electric li'ht switch on and off Cuic!ly in the dar!, loo!in' directly at the li'ht bulb. ,otice how the ima'e of the bulb remains in your mind*s eye for an instant as it fades away. Try this simple eMperiment with meE Have someone select a picture, preferably one with which you are not familiar. f it*s on a wall, close your eyes and turn toward it. f it*s in a boo!, hold your place so you can Cuic!ly open the boo! to view it. ,ow " Cuic!ly loo! at the picture Bust for one second and then loo! away from it. ,ow recallE /hat was the pictureD $ mountain stream, a mountain, a house, a carD .ou saw the whole picture. ,ow name the details you saw in the picture. /ere there flowersD /as it a moonli'ht sceneD /as there a roadD /ere any people picturedD %ee how many details you can recall. 6id you notice how the total ima'e with all the details were impressed on your mind, all in a flash of a second. /hen God #thin!s+ into our minds, he usually puts the entire thou'ht, scriptures, events, solutions, stories or whatever he is sayin', into our minds in a flash of a second. /e can #'rab+ those thou'hts and develop them by simply thin!in' the details throu'h by our recall ability. /hen God reveals a thou'ht, stop immediately and thin! throu'h all he has said. Tell it to someone in detail if you can. This stores it into your human mind for remembrance.

7H=

Frances and spea! almost entirely without notes. $s we are presentin' a messa'e, we have prayed and thou'ht about it in a 'eneral way before. But while we are tal!in', we follow the thou'hts which come into our minds. /e have prayed, believin', that God would put the thou'hts into our minds by his %pirit or bloc! them from our minds, as he chooses. These thou'hts come almost entirely from eMperiences we have had, miracles we have seen or read about, principles we have learned about in the Bible or otherwise " messa'es stored into our minds from times passed, but nevertheless, stored in our human brain. /hen the Holy %pirit, who !nows the needs of the listeners, wants to tell them somethin' throu'h our voices, he recalls the ri'ht combination of stories, scriptures, or principles into our minds, and we spea! them. /e are awed by the accuracy of his spea!in' to receptive listeners Bust what they need to !now. He flashes messa'es into our mind in a piece of a second that may ta!e five or ten minutes to tell. For eMample, as write this boo!, most of these words and thou'hts have been spo!en one time or many times before. The scriptures have been read and meditated upon many times. prayed, Frances laid her hands on my head and prayed and several friends are prayin' as write this chapter. nto my mind the boo! is bein' recalled as fast as can write, and the stories and supportin' details are fallin' into place li!e a computer card sorter or a collator of pa'es of a boo!.

7H7

learned part of this principle of hearin' God*s silent voice, these Holy %pirit thou'hts, from 5u!e 7AE77I7AE #$nd when you are brou'ht to trial before these Jewish rulers and authorities in the syna'o'ues, don*t be concerned about what to say in your defense, for the Holy %pirit will 'ive you the ri'ht words even as you are standin' there.+ not only read this, tried it on several occasions and it wor!ed. also learned by tryin' it, to as! for answers before stood before an audience. There were times before listened in advance of spea!in' when would start a second story as it came into my mind " before 'ave the point of the first story, and that*s not 'ood. *m still not immune to that, but *m learnin' not only to open my mind for my neMt thou'hts, but to !eep it open for the thou'ht in process at the time.

How to Ma-e a !ecision

3arly one %unday mornin' was readin' the Bible for two meditatin' hours. %uddenly saw a scripture, then a flash of thou'hts and another scripture that has helped in my business decisions many times since. pray it will help you to hear God*s thou'hts for your business decisions. had been readin' the boo! of %amuel where the children of srael were 'rumblin' to God Fthat*s not the best way to tal! to himG because all the other nations had a !in' and they didn*t, but wanted one. They went to %amuel and said+ )Give us a !in' li!e all the other nations have,* they pleaded. %amuel was terribly upset and went to the 5ord for advice. )6o as they say,* the 5ord replied, for am the one 7HA

they are reBectin', not you " they don*t want me to be their !in' any lon'er.+ F %am. <EHI9G God 'ranted their wish for a ruler physically, but never relinCuished his !in'ship spiritually. n the 0ld Testament days, God spo!e and conducted his business lar'ely throu'h prophets or seers. %amuel was God*s man at this time. God chose %aul to be the !in'. %aul was the most handsome man in srael, and was head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the land! He was from the tribe of BenBamin, the smallest in srael, and his family was the least important of all the families of the tribe. He was, and felt, unCualified to be !in'. But God chose him and 'ave full instructions in prophecy to %amuel. &icture now this 'ood loo!in' 'iant, Bust havin' been treated li!e a !in' at his coronation banCuet and loo! what %amuel did to him. #Then %amuel too! a flas! of oil and poured it over %aul*s head and !issed him on the chee! and said, ) am doin' this because the 5ord has appointed you to be the !in' of his people, srael.*+ F %am. 7=E7G Before learned that the Holy %pirit reveals spiritual truths, read this and thou'ht what a mess " oil poured all over his clothes Bust as he was ready to wal! a lon' way bac! home. But then God, throu'h his %pirit lan'ua'e way of tal!in' to Christians, made it simple to understand what happened. #0il+ throu'hout the Bible is symbolic of the Holy %pirit. God was their %piritual !in' and was to lead his people by his Holy %pirit throu'h a mere man, %aul. %o, what happened was that the Holy %pirit was

7H8

poured over his head " he had the anointin' of God so God would remain !in' throu'h him. ,ow, s!ip over to the -th and .th verses and see how God would rule his people throu'h him. #$t that time the %pirit of the 5ord will come mi'htily upon you, and you will prophesy with them and you will feel and act li!e a different person. From that time on your decisions should be based on whatever seems best under the circumstances, for the 1ord will guide you." n my accountin' practice have learned taM laws and financial matters adeCuately to serve my clients as their C&$. $lways have made decisions for them based upon my !nowled'e applied with my Bud'ment under the circumstances. But God floodli'hted somethin' else about how my decisions should be made. He said, #your decisions should be based on whatever seems best under the circumstances, F<0 *H/ 1<0: (+11 G;+:/ Y<;. nearly Bumped out of my chair when saw this. have received the same Holy %pirit %aul had. am an ordinary man li!e %aul was. He was operatin' a business li!e was. /hat*s the differenceD He accepted his herita'e " hadn*t reco'niLed God7s voice, his /ord, before that mornin'. had actually done my wor! normally and received answers in my business problems, but this was God sayin', #Charles, your decisions should be based on whatever seems best under the circumstances, and + will guide you -y my .irit. !new from the ei'hth chapter of 2omans that those who follow after the Holy %pirit find themselves doin' those thin's that

7H:

please God. $nd that followin' after the Holy %pirit leads to life and peace. 0ne of my very favorite chapters in the Bible is the first chapter of James. 5oo! what it says about decisions. will underscore to direct your attention as the Holy %pirit directed mine. James 7E7I< +-0M& J M,3, ser"ant of (od and of the Lord Jesus ;hrist. #o& Jewish ;hristians scattered e"erywhere. (reetings6 .ear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations' #hen be happy, or when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. 3o let it grow, and don)t try to sBuirm out of your problems. +or when your patience is finally in full bloom, then you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete. %f you want to know what (od wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to gi"e a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him; he will not resent it. !ut when you ask him, be sure that you really e$pect him to tell you, for a doubtful mind will be as unsettled as a wa"e of the sea that is dri"en and tossed by the wind; and e"ery decision you then make will be uncertain, as you turn first this way, and then that. %f you don)t ask with faith, don)t e$pect the Lord to gi"e you any solid answer. ,otice, the provision doesn*t say, #as! God for any answer you want" t says, #if you want to !now 7HH

what God wants you to do.+ f your business belon's to God, you can as! him anythin' about it. That means a lot to me in connection with the #if it be thy will+ scripture prayer. f it*s God*s business decision, it is God*s will. -aybe the eMamination should be of ourselves and our motives and searchin'ly pray " am your willD f am God*s will, *m in God*s will, so can as! him anythin' want to !now and 'et my answer. Trustin' God now comes into the art of conversation with God. f you don*t trust him to answer " if you don*t as! with faith, don*t eMpect the 5ord to 'ive you any solid answers " every decision you then ma!e will be uncertain, as you turn first this way, and then that. /hen we drive a car our minds don*t have to meditate on how to ma!e it chan'e directions, how to ma!e it stop, how to ma!e it 'o faster or slower. This )has become so much a part of our mind that it is done seemin'ly without thin!in'. But, praise God, our mind is thin!in' " or we would Cuic!ly wrec! the car. /e trust our minds and the car to do all we want them to do( and we can sin', thin! or tal! while our mind and the car are doin' these routine, habit Bobs. /e don*t need to as! God how to shift 'ears or turn the steerin' wheel, but we can as! him to 'uide our decisions and to protect us as we travel. f we are sincerely wor!in' as wisely as we !now how, believe he will 'uide us so our decisions, made with our own minds, will match his decisions, Bust li!e he told Jin' %aul. 5oo! at a couple more #decision+ versesE %amuel 74E9 7H4

But the 5ord said to %amuel, +6on*t Bud'e by a man*s face or hei'ht, for this is not the one. don*t ma!e decisions the way you do! -en Bud'e by outward appearance, but loo! at a man*s thou'hts and intentions.+ 2omans 77E88I84 0h, what a wonderful (od we ha"e6 7ow great are his wisdom and knowledge and riches6 7ow impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his methods6 +or who among us can know the mind of the Lord' Who knows enough to be his counselor and guide' nd who could e"er offer to the Lord enough to induce him to act' +or e"erything comes from (od alone. ,"erything li"es by his power, and e"erything is for his glory. #o him be glory e"ermore. have a millionaire client whom respect hi'hly for his success, his wisdom, and his Bud'ment. He respects my 'uidance, loyalty and Bud'ment as his C&$. To me C&$ means, wherever am, #Christ*s &ersonal $mbassador.+ F%ee Cor. HEA=.G /e have wor!ed to'ether for years successfully and in harmony. He !nows that he should never do anythin' of si'nificance without first reviewin' the income taM conseCuences with me. There*s only been one problem " he waits until the last minute to tell me and seem never to have adeCuate time to research difficult taM matters. 0ne mornin' a call came to me from him. He said he was 'oin' into a business venture on a OA,===,===.== proBect with another man, and could 7H9

he come by at :E8= that afternoon to review it with me. The appointment was made and promptly at :E8= he came in with his proBect partner. His partner is a Jewish lawyer. f you are ever involved with a Jewish lawyer, be sure he is on your side, because he*s probably very smart, swift tal!in', shrewd, and out to win his case. %uch was this Jewish lawyer. $s soon as we sat down, he said he was 'oin' to tal! fast because he didn*t li!e to pay accountin' fees, and besides, his taM lawyers and accountants had already wor!ed out the taM plan for the venture, so all he wanted was my approval for my client. never heard anyone tal! so fast in my life, so stopped him about the second minute Fabout 7=,=== words laterG and said wait a minute. want to !now every detail about this venture, so please tal! slowly and eMplain carefully. He a'reed and be'an eMplainin' one of the most compleM taM structures in which was ever involved. He said they were to si'n the papers the first thin' the neMt mornin'. realiLed had no time to do taM research or eMtensive thin!in', so while he was eMplainin' was intently listenin', but was rushin' a plea to heaven. flashed a thou'ht, intact Fwithout puttin' it into wordsG " help! 0ne thin' this Jewish lawyer didn*t !now " H$: $ !/(+ H 1$(Y/0, *<<, was really in consultation with him!!! &raise Jesus!! had told Jesus didn*t have time for research, and as!ed him to 'ive me the answer Cuic!ly. /hen the lawyer finished eMplainin', be'an tal!in'. For about ten minutes one of the most beautiful taM plans to a very complicated situation came pourin' out of my 7H<

mouth as thou'h was readin' from a printed document. $nd really was Bust about doin' that as the Holy %pirit supernaturally brou'ht taM laws and practical eMperiences of twenty years rushin' from all directions into my recall mechanism as thou'h drawn by a ma'net, and then sorted the input li!e a computer selector to 'ive me the answer! /hen Cuit tal!in', the lawyer Bust stared at me and said, #/hy didn*t my taM men thin! of thatD+ #/hen you are 'uided by the Holy %pirit you need no lon'er obey !ewish laws! !# FGalatians HE7<G This is not always the way God has solved my taM problems, but he did a special miracle that day. He most often has me do what seems -est under the circumstances research in our taM library for the answer. /hen he does this, as! him to alert my mind and 'uide me to the answer, and then to see that reco'niLe the answer and apply it correctly " for the 1ord will guide me. 0ur part of the world into which we are to 'o and preach the Good ,ews includes our business associates. &eople who have not been born a'ain and are not followin' after the Holy %pirit, cannot understand what we are tal!in' about spiritually, #But the man who isn*t a Christian can*t understand and can*t accept these thoughts from God, which the Holy %pirit teaches us. They sound foolish to him, because only those who have the Holy %pirit within them can understand what the Holy %pirit means. 0thers Bust can*t ta!e it in.+ F Cor. AE7:G Then how can we in business convince our associates that Jesus is the answer to lifeD

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They !now we are Christians " you Bust don*t !eep that fact covered up with a bas!et of shame if you are really in love with Jesus. -ost of them !now when you are actin' li!e they thin! a Christian should and when you are not. They loo! at you as a business man or woman, not as a Christian, and watch your business and personal conduct. /hat should our conduct beD 5et*s loo! at a few of God*s standards for the business man or womanE 2omans 7AE;I77 .on)t just pretend that you lo"e others& really lo"e them. 7ate what is wrong. 3tand on the side of the good. W0-/ W%#7 each other with brotherly affection and W0W66 take delight in honoring each other. 1e"er be laEy in your work but ser"e the Lord enthusiastically. $ friend who had recently received the baptism of the Holy %pirit and became a fireball for Jesus was havin' trouble 'ettin' his wor! done " he couldn*t stop tal!in' about Jesus. He as!ed me if thou'ht he ou'ht to continue doin' a 'ood Bob for his customers, or whatD said no lon'er should he try to do a 'ood Bob " he should be satisfied with no less than a su.erior Bob. $nd also learn to do the superior Bob first and then tal! about Jesus. learned this from personal eMperience of overIwitnessin'. 3phesians 4EHI;E %ubstitute employer and employee instead of master and slaveE

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3la"es, obey your masters; be eager to gi"e them your "ery best. 3er"e them as you would ;hrist. work hard only when your master is watching and then shirk when he isn)t looking; work hard and with gladness all the time, as though working for ;hrist, doing the will of (od with all your hearts. -emember, the Lord will pay you for each good thing you do, whether you are sla"e or free. nd you sla"e owners must treat your sla"es Just as % ha"e told them to treat you. .on)t keep threatening them; remember, you yoursel"es are sla"es to ;hrist; you ha"e the same Master they do, and he has no fa"orites. &hilippians AE7:I74 n everythin' you do, stay away from complainin' and ar'uin', so that no one can spea! a word of blame a'ainst you. .ou are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dar! world full of people r who are croo!ed and stubborn. %hine out amon' them li!e beacon li'hts, out to them the /ord of 5ife. &hilippians :E<I; $nd now, brothers, as close this letter let me say this one more thin'E FiM your thou'hts on what is true and 'ood and ri'ht. Thin! about thin's that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, 'ood thin's in others. Thin! about all you can praise God for and be 'lad about. Jeep puttin' into practice all you learned from me and saw me doin', and the God of peace will be with you. 747

&hilippians :E77I78 +or % ha"e learned how to get along happily whether % ha"e much or little % know how to li"e on almost nothing or with e"erything. % ha"e learned the secret of contentment in e"ery situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger, plenty or want; for % can do e"erything (od asks me to with the help of ;hrist who gi"es me the strength and power. Colossians 8EAAIAH 4ou sla"es must always obey your earthly masters, not only trying to them please them when they are watching you but all the time; obey them willingly because of your lo"e for the Lord and because you want to please him. Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, just as though y were working for the Lord and not merely for your masters, remembering that it is the Lord Christ who is going to pay you gi"ing you your full portion of all he owns. He is the one you are really working for. nd if you don)t do your very best for him, he will pay you in a way that you won)t like A for he has no special fa"orites who can get away with shirking. Thess. 8E4I7= 1ow here is a command, dear brothers, gi"en in the name of our Lord Jesus ;hrist by his authority& 3tay away from any ;hristian who spends his days in laEiness and does not follow 74A

the ideal of hard work we set u for y you well know that you ought to follow our e$ample& you ne"er saw us loafing we ne"er accepted food from anyone without buying it; worked hard day and night for the money we needed to li"e on. in order that we would not be a burden to any of you. wasn)t that we didn)t ha"e the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to show you, firsthand, how you should work for your li"ing. ,"en while we were still there with you we ga"e you this rule& 7e who does not work shall not eat.* 4et we hear that some of you are li"ing in laEiness, refusing to works and wasting your time in gossiping. %n the name of the Lord Jesus ;hrist we appeal to such people A we command them A to Buiet down, get to work, and earn their own li"ing. to the rest of you % say, dear brothers, ne"er be tired of doing right. Tim. 4E4I7= .o you want to be truly rich' 4ou already are if you are happy and good. fter all, we didn)t bring any money with us when we came into the world, and we can)t carry away a single penny when we die. we should be well satisfied without money if we ha"e enough food and clothing. people who long to be rich soon begin to do all kinds of wrong things to get money, things that hurt them and make them e"il?minded and finally send them to hell itself. +or the lo"e of money is the first step toward all kinds of sin. 3ome people ha"e e"en turned away from (od because of 748

their lo"e for it, and as a result ha"e pierced themsel"es with many sorrows. Tim. 4E79I7; +or those who are rich not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone, but their pride and trust should be in the li"ing (od who always richly gi"es us all we need for our enjoyment. C #ell them to use their money to do good. #hey should be rich in good works and should gi"e happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whate"er (od has gi"en them. doing this they will be storing up real treasure for themsel"es in hea"en A it is the only safe in"estment for eternity6 nd they will be li"ing a fruitful ;hristian life down here as well. 3R&3CT G06 T0 $CT! F&salms :AE77G God spea!s by action " physical replies to our reCuests. t had been about three years in -ay of 7;9: that we had !nown Frances had an enlar'ed heart. t wasn*t particularly botherin' her, we didn*t thin!. But durin' the year precedin' -ay, somethin' seemed to be happenin'. Her ener'y would simply leave and she would be so tired all over that she could not force herself to 'o into a day*s wor!. /ith Christ*s mi'hty ener'y at wor! within her, she almost always could accelerate her ener'ies to conduct services in Jesus* name. %o often when we were home she would sleep for two days, not even wantin' to 'et up for food sometimes not bein' able to. %he would repeatedly say to me " # *m so tired, *m so tired!+ %he never missed a 74:

service because of this, and miracle services reCuire lon' hours standin', pourin' out not only physical ener'y, but spiritual ener'y as well. Then seemin'ly not related to this, she periodically would have blastin', burstin' headaches. /e prayed, " over and over and over as!in' God, than!in' him, praisin' him. %he too! aspirin soa!ed in prayer. But nothin' would ever diminish the pain. These would last about A:I:< hours and then would subside. Twice, because of the pain which was so bad that she would 'et violently ill, vomitin', she couldn*t 'o any further. 0nce in Chica'o left her in bed all day with eMcruciatin' pain as fulfilled our commitment. 3Mcept for God and for Jesus, nothin' would have separated us at that time. The spells be'an to come more often, until finally in -ay she really had a violent attac!. t had continued for almost A: hours. was constantly in prayer, but seemin'ly my prayers went no further than my intellect. There was no faith available, and you cannot attain faith on your own " it is a 'ift. Gifts are 'iven because of a willin' desire of the 'iver, and found lon' a'o they are not obtained by be''in'. -aybe we will 'et the 'ift, but it really becomes charity Fas in povertyG, not as #love+ charity. had no faith, but prayed anyway. 0f course, the foundation of faith is belief in God and Christ Jesus, not in results or feelin'. 0thers were prayin' but the pains never let up. Finally about four o*cloc! in the afternoon we called our %piritIfilled doctor. He had been her doctor for almost five years Fmine for over twenty yearsG. He was the one who told her three years 74H

earlier about the enlar'ed heart. He had chec!ed her in his clinic often and !new her medical history. /e called him and Frances said, #Could this be hi'h blood pressureD+ #.es, you have all the symptoms.+ He prescribed some bloodIpressure medication and instructed her to ta!e it and said there should be a si'nificant chan'e in two hours( if it had not subsided to call him and he would come to our home Fwe live about AH miles from himG. Two hours passed and it was Bust as bad as before. never left her bedside and prayed constantly, helplessly. $ friend who had eMperience as a medical technician came to the house with a sphy'momanometer, the instrument used to measure blood pressure. %he immediately made the pressure test, and even after the medication had been in Frances about A? hours, the pressure was AAHN7 :=, much too hi'h for comfort, and we assumed it had been even hi'her. %he said she could tell that the heart was 'reatly enlar'ed as she placed a stethoscope on her body. %he said she could also hear a whistlin' sound which indicated a hole in the heart or near it, li!e escapin' air. $nd then it happened! have eMplained how God imprints into our minds a complete thou'ht or series of thou'hts all at once " li!e loo!in' at a picture and havin' the entire picture imprinted into our mind throu'h our eyes in a split second. nto my mind, li!e an imprinted picture, came at li'htnin' speed several thou'hts, in seCuence but li!e a ricochetin' bullet. t was all in my mind in perhaps 7N7= of a second. !now the 744

voice of God and !new he had spo!en and in about another 7N7= second was on my feet, standin' over Frances! The technician friend had the blood pressure tester in her lap, and had no idea what was happenin' to me. %he !nows prayer so my action didn*t surprise her. This is what happenedE $bout three months before, a %piritIfilled youn' woman had told us a true story, and God flashed that story into my memory recall. %he had moved into an apartment in the southern part of the nation. The first ni'ht she had occasion to 'o into the !itchen and when she turned on the li'ht, she was shoc!ed to see lar'e coc!roaches all over the place. %he was scared, dis'usted and frustrated all at the same time. n contemplatin' what to do, she said she remembered somethin' in the Bible and instantly pointed at the coc!roaches and said, #God, you 'ave $dam dominion over all creepin' thin's, so you creepin' coc!roaches, ta!e authority over you in the name of Jesus, and if you don*t 'et out of here ri'ht now, *m 'oin' to stomp you to death.+ %he said they ran in every direction, disappeared and she hasn*t seen them since. /hen the Holy %pirit flashed that into my mind, !new instantly that was to spea! to the heart, with the authority of Jesus. !new Jesus spo!e to fever in &eter*s motherIinIlaw and said #fever, rebu!e you+ and she was healed. Then thou'ht, # s it a spirit causin' thisD+ f it was, !new by -atthew 7A that would bind %atan by the power of the Holy %pirit, and then with the authority of Jesus, command the spirit to come out, in Jesus* name. But li!e a bouncin' echo, the story of Jesus calmin' the 749

stormy sea came flashin' into my mind. He didn*t cast out a spirit of storm. He Bust spo!e with authority to the wind and waves and said, #&eace, be still!+ and the sea became calm. Then in a miniIsecond came the recall of -ar! 74E7:IA=E 3till later he appeared to the ele"en disciples as they were eating together. 7e rebuked them for their unbelief A their stubborn refusal to belie"e those who had seen him ali"e from the dead. nd then he told them, 4ou are to go into all the world and preach the (ood 1ews to e"eryone, e"erywhere. nd those who belie"e and are baptiEed will be sa"ed. !ut those who refuse to belie"e will be condemned. nd those who belie"e shall use my authority to cast out demons, and they shall speak new languages. #hey will be able e"en to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won)t hurt them; and they will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them.* When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into hea"en and sat down at (od)s right hand. nd the disciples went e"erywhere preaching, and the Lord was with them and confirmed what they said by the miracles that followed their messages.

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!new from these scriptures that the authority for miracles came from Jesus. mmediately, armed with the series of thou'hts, pointed at Frances* heart and spo!e out loud. /ith the authority of a policeman orderin' a criminal to move, saidE #Heart, ta!e authority over you, in the name of Jesus, command you bloodIpressure, 'o down to normal! n the name of Jesus, bloodIpressure, 'o down! By the authority of Jesus, and that means )all* the authority of Jesus, not Bust a small pinch, but $55 the authority of Jesus, command you in Jesus* name drop to normal!+ #Heart, command you, be healed and return to normal siLe. Jesus, heal the hole in the heart!+ noticed another test was bein' made with the bloodItestin' instrument, and the lady was writin' the results on a pad. never stopped tal!in' to the heart. Faith was there stron' from God and there was no holdin' me bac! or Cuestionin' the %pirit. had many times spo!en to fever in babies, or 'rown people, in Jesus* name, commandin' it to leave, and it had instantly left. had felt burnin', fever ridden heads cool immediately under my hand as Jesus touched the person. had seen pain leave instantly after bein' constantly in a woman*s le' for ten years as a result of a car wrec! inBury. Jesus had many times demonstrated that he had 'iven us his authority and that it was the power of God*s %pirit that healed. was not playin' 'ames! was not sayin' words! was spea!in' to an enemy attac!in' my beloved Frances and hurtin' her severely, and didn*t li!e that enemy!

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continued tal!in' to the heart and commandin' the pressure to 'o down to normal for twelve minutes! could see the lady 'ettin' eMcited as every minute or two she would test the pressure and write it down! wasn*t watchin' her, but could see her in my peripheral vision " my mind was on the business at hand! did perceive an eMcitement in her and thou'ht her wi' mi'ht fly off any minute! $t the end of twelve minutes, she said, # t*s normal!+ Frances said the headache was 'one! How we shouted praises to God!!! /e called our doctor and told him what had happened. /e made an appointment for Frances to be admitted to the hospital for eMtensive tests. /e believe in divine miracles, and have seen God do thousands of remar!able healin's in front of our eyes as we watch his mi'hty &ower at wor!! /e also believe, as Jesus did when he put 6r. 5u!e on his staff, that doctors are in the medical department of the !in'dom of God on earth. The tests were made " RIrays, 3JG*s, calm tests, eMertion tests, and 'uess every test that is !nown to medical science. The resultsE no enlar'ed heart! ,o hole in the heart or evidence of it! Blood pressure normal! Blood pressure normal under eMertion. C$%3 6 %- %%36!!! HalleluBah!!! Frances has had beautiful stren'th and health ever since that 'lorious ni'ht in -ay when Jesus, the Great &hysician, stood over the bed, livin' in me, Bust a mere human bein', and healed her sic! body. %he has had no more headaches, and her blood pressure is normal. $ll praise and honor and

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'lory 'oes to God, our blessed heavenly Father, throu'h his ma'nificent %on, Jesus! $ll hail the power of Jesus* name! 5et an'els prostrate fall, Brin' forth the royal diadem, $nd crown him 5ord of $55! Can we hear God spea!D .3%, we can. 6oes he want to instruct us daily in our normal events of the dayD .es, he does. /e were created to have fellowship Fcommunion, communicationG with our God, our creator! /ithin my heart feel am Bust enterin' into a new world, a %pirit world of God*s 'lory and companionship, Bust as real as the one $dam eMperienced before his spirit world was ta!en away because of sin. The more step beyond the realm of human capabilities, trustin' God and Jesus " simply believin', the more eMcited 'et of the 'reat dimension in which we can live " and still successfully live and operate within our business world. believe anyone who is willin' can attain this level of communication with God " and even more! intend to search for, live for, eMperiment to attain a 'reater measure of the phenomenal power believe God wants us to use for his 'lory. intend to test him, try him and let him prove his promise that he will open the windows of heaven even more in communicatin' his desires to us!

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AND "ESUS SAID %FOLLOW ME&

/here do we 'o when we follow JesusD /here he leads me, will follow! How do we find where he is so we will !now /here to 'o to find himD 6o we find his footprints in the snow $nd follow them until we catch himD /hat is He doin' while we are followin' himD s it interestin' to be with him constantlyD s he fun to live withD s he eMcitin'D 6oes he ever 'ripe or complainD s it relaMin' to be around him or are we inclined to be tense and find it difficult to tal! to himD was ready and anMious to 'et started on another chapter of this boo! early one mornin', but was drawn by the %pirit to spend a little more time alone with Jesus in the Bible before writin'. had been readin' in -atthew from the ,ew nternational Kersion. By the time had read thirty minutes, !new God had shown me the footsteps of Jesus " Bust some of them, but enou'h to !now what he meant when he said F<11<( M/, There*s a se'ment of -atthew from Chapter 8 to Chapter 7= where Jesus instructed his newly chosen disciples. 5et him instruct us as we F0550/ H -E

79A

-atthew I Kerses from Chapters 8 " 7= 8E< #&roduce fruit in !eepin' with 2epentance.+ F0550/ -3 into repentance. 8E77 #He FJesusG will baptiLe you with the Holy %pirit.+ F0550/ -3 " nto fire and power " %urrender all. He FJohnG saw the %pirit of God descendin' li!e a dove and a voice from heaven said, #This is my beloved %on, whom love( with him am well pleased.+ F0550/ -3 " am worthy " am God*s divine %on. :E7= Jesus said to him, #$way from me, %atan! For it is writtenE #/orship the 5ord your God, and serve him only.*+ F0550/ -3 " as follow my Father. :E79 #From that time on Jesus be'an to preach, )2epent, for the Jin'dom of Heaven is near.*+ F0550/ -3 " into salvation " you must be born a'ain!

8E74I79

:E7;

#Come, follow me,+ Jesus said, #and 798

will ma!e you fishers of men.+ F0550/ -3 " ma!e my Father rich by addin' to his !in'dom! :EA8 Jesus went throu'h Galilee teaching in their syna'o'ues, .reaching the 'ood news of the !in'dom, and healing every disease and sic!ness amon' the people. F0550/ -3 " 'o into all the world " and si'ns and wonders will follow teach, preach, heal! HE7: #.ou are the li'ht of the world.+ F0550/ -3 " let the world see Jesus " shine! HE7; #$nyone who brea!s one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the !in'dom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commandments will be called 'reat in the !in'dom of heaven.+ F0550/ -3 " love God, Jesus, nei'hbor as much as self " 5ove, 5ove, 5ove! HE:: #But tell you, love your enemies.+ F0550/ -3 " 5ove, 5ove. 5ove! HE:< #Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly 79:

Father is perfect.+ F0550/ -3 " trust me, obey me, want to please me! 4EA #%o when you 'ive to the needy... F0550/ -3 " 'ave to them food, health, love, blessin's,. . . myself. 4E7: #For if you for'ive men when they sin a'ainst you, your heavenly Father will also for'ive you.+ F0550/ -3 " Father, for'ive them, for they !now not what they do " for'ive without reason. 4EA7 #For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.+ F0550/ -3 " in the same way, any of you who does not 'ive up everythin' he has, cannot be my disciple. 4EA: #,o one can serve two masters.+ F0550/ -3 " am your -aster " if you want me to be! 4EAH #Therefore tell you, do not worry about your life, what you eat or drin!( or about your body, what you will wear.+ F0550/ -3 " do you believe meD will care for you " abundantly! 79H

4E88

#But see! first his !in'dom and his ri'hteousness, and all these thin's will be 'iven to you as well.+ F0550/ -3 " am your source.

9E7

#6o not Bud'e, or you too will be Bud'ed. For in the same way you Bud'e others, you will be Bud'ed, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.,* F0550/ -3 " you be my disciple and *ll be the Bud'e " you love, *ll pay.

9E9

#$s! and ft will be 'iven you( see! and you will find( !noc! and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who as!s receives( he who see!s finds( and to him who !noc!s, the door will be opened.+ F0550/ -3 " yes, it*s me( come on in " to heaven.

9E7A

# n everythin' do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the 5aw and the &rophets.+ F0550/ -3 " whatever you thin! about or say to others " Bust say the same thin' to me " with the same attitude.

794

9E7:

#But small is the 'ate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.+ F0550/ -3 " *ll lead you into heaven " am the way, the truth and the life.

9E74

#By their fruit you will reco'niLe them.+ F0550/ -3 " my fruit is love, Boy, peace, patience, !indness, 'oodness, faithfulness, 'entleness, and selfIcontrol " this is what subsist on( when you are with me, eat freely.

9EA7

#0nly he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter the !in'dom of heaven.+ F0550/ -3 " have obeyed in all thin's, even in voluntary death.

9EA:

#Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is li!e a wise man who built his house on the roc!.+ F0550/ -3 " am the 2oc! Foundation.

<E8 <E9

# am willin' " be clean!+ # will 'o and heal him.+ 799

<E74

#He drove out the spirits with a word. . . .# F0550/ -3 " 'reater thin's than do, you will do, when you believe.

<E7<

#Teacher, will follow you wherever you 'o.+ #5ord, first let me 'o and bury my father.+ F0550/ -3 " now, if you mean it!

<EA8

#5ord, save us! /e*re 'oin' to drown!+ F0550/ -3 " am your salvation.

;E:

#/hy do you entertain evil thou'hts in your heartsD+ F0550/ -3 " whatsoever thin's are pure . . . only the holy shall see God.

;E;

Jesus saw -atthew, a taM collector. and #-atthew 'ot up and followed him.+ F0550/ -3 " without Cuestionin' where or why or how.

7=E7 #

He called his twelve disciples to him and 'ave them authority to drive out F0550/ -3 " and you will receive power when the Holy %pirit comes on you( and you will be my witnesses " everywhere you 'o. n your church " tal! about me. 0n your Bob " tal! about me. n school " tal! 79<

about me. /hoever ac!nowled'es me before men, will also ac!nowled'e him before my Father in heaven. 7=E89I8; #$nyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me( anyone who loves his son or dau'hter more than me is not worthy of me. /hoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sa!e will find it.+ F0550/ -3 " yes, Jesus, with all my heart will follow you " 'ive you my whole life. J3%1% % %$. ,GE $23 Y<; / 55 ,GD T0 F0550/ -3 into repentanceD T0 F0550/ -3 into fire and powerD T0 F0550/ -3 because am worthyD T0 F0550/ -3 as follow my FatherD T0 F0550/ -3 into salvation and be born a'ainD T0 F0550/ -3 and ma!e my Father rich by addin' to his !in'domD T0 F0550/ -3 and 'o into all the worldD T0 F0550/ -3 and let the world see meD T0 F0550/ me and love my Father, me, 79;

and your nei'hbor as much as you love yourselfD T0 F0550/ me and loveD T0 F0550/ -3 and trust me, obey me and want to please meD T0 F0550/ -3 and 'ive of yourselfD T0 F0550/ -3 and for'ive themD T0 F0550/ -3 and 'ive up everythin' to be my discipleD T0 F0550/ -3 and no other masterD T0 F0550/ -3 and trust me to be your sourceD T0 F0550/ -3 and be my discipleD T0 F0550/ -3 throu'h the narrow 'ateD T0 F0550/ -3 and have all the fruit of the %piritD T0 F0550/ -3 because am the 2oc! FoundationD T0 F0550/ -3 without Cuestionin' where or why or howD T0 F0550/ -3 and receive all the power you needD To F0550/ -3 and love me more than the rest of the worldD Can you see Jesus standin' in front of you, croo!in' his fin'er toward you, sayin' #Come, 7<=

follow meD+ Can you feel his presence drawin' you into discipleshipD Has he put into your heart a hun'er to 'o all the way from self to him as -aster of your lifeD Has he chosen you to be one of his disciples today " in the world where you live and wor!D $re you willin' to accept the assi'nment of followin' him, no matter what the costD $re you willin' to 'ive him $55D ,0/D F023K32DDD f you have decided to follow Jesus, pray with me! 1ord !esus, + see you standing -efore me, croo4ing your finger, calling me to follow you wherever you go for the rest of my life on earth. + want with all of my heart to do whatever you want me to do, *a4e all of my life and ma4e me s.iritually what you want me to -e, + am turning loose all of me + have held -ac4. Forgive me of all of my sins, + never want to -e lu4ewarm again, so .lease, !esus, -a.tiBe me with the Holy .irit and fire, + as4 you to give me the .romised .ower, and + will -e your witness with my life, my actions, my language, my attitudes, my searching for all of God in my life% in holy living, in the use of my time, my energies, my reading, into whatever world of .eo.le you ta4e me. + want to and will follow you, *han4 you for choosing me and acce.ting me as one of your disci.les. + 1<2/ Y<;, !/ ; , + (<0 H+9 Y<;, + $:<0/ Y<;, + 90$+ / Y<;, You are my avior, my 0edeemer, the 9erfect 1am- of God, my Master, my 8a.tiBer. You are ?ing of ?ings and 1ord of 1ords, (orthy is the 1am-, who was slain, 7<7

to receive .ower and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and .raise, *han4 you, !esus, Freely you have received, freely give,
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