A Word to the CHURCH: Pick up DISCIPLESHIP

IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE

Another Timely Word 
from Brother Brendon Patrick+ + +    ..... 

  The organized church as a whole has walked away from discipleship.

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The plain words of CHRIST are ignored and people are taught that if they attempt to actually do what JESUS taught,...  to actually live the way HE+ taught ... they are legalistic and are in "bondage".

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On the other hand, the organized church systems will usually teach that you are under "grace" and can ignore the teachings of JESUS as relating to real life! That's right. You can ignore the plain teachings and commandments of the ONE+ Who+ saved you by Grace with HIS+ own BODY and BLOOD ! Untrue of course.

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JESUS our LORD did all of HIS+ part. 

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However.... HE+ will not do our part for us.

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HE+ will not be HIS+ own Disciple for us !

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HE+ will however give us Divine help in every way in the Power of the Holy Spirit to really follow HIM+ and be Disciples in the Way HE+ has taught us.

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JESUS plainly said, "If anyone will follow me, he MUST deny himself, take up his cross and follow me." This is NOT taught in the modern churches ... and that is an understatement, at best. 

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     The Power of the Eternal SPIRIT of GOD was evident in the ancient Church in all Followers of JESUS, both in their daily lifestyle and in the Supernatural Gifts and working of that same Holy SPIRIT. The things that JESUS did, they did. This was SO evident to those around them that the pagans were the first ones who referred to them as "Christians" ... because they were so much like CHRIST.

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HIS+ SPIRIT was in them reproducing CHRIST. 

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   The necessity of discipleship for EVERY follower of CHRIST has been removed from the modern church and has left it floundering, focusing mainly on theological systems that were  formulated 1,500 years or more after The SON+ of GOD delivered the Gospel of Life to the world.

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This modern church, this religious system, does not even resemble the original church, of course. We have the same Gospels, the same Apostles’ writings, and the same Prophetic writings that the ancient Pre-Nicene church had, but our "battery" is dead, so to speak. 

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 It has been drained with the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of riches.

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We must HAVE OUR BATTERY

CHARGED and RE-CONNECTED

TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST

for  SANCTIFICATION of LIFE.

 

We must learn to YIELD to CHRIST so that the Strength and Power of the HOLY SPIRIT can flow through us as it did through the ancient Christians.

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      Yes! Unclean spiritual forces do manifest themselves in religious systems and in their adherents’ lives. They have given themselves over to those spirits and agreed that satan’s lies are “truth!"

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These same unclean spirits came at JESUS, accusing HIM+, threatening, challenging. These unclean spirits have not gone anywhere. They watch for gullible humans to control and inhabit.

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As we can see, whole "churches" can be built on the foundation of demonic teaching and control.

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QUESTION:  Are we ready to do as JESUS taught and deny ourselves, pick up our Cross, and yield ourselves TOTALLY to HIM+ so that we will be equipped and prepared to stand against the reality of unclean spirits confronting and challenging The Body of Christ on this earth?

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It is going to get worse,  

much worse, than what we now see.

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Scripture teaches that JESUS will Baptize us --- immerse us ---  into the HOLY SPIRIT and FIRE. We are going TO NEED THAT!

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       Heavenly FATHER, please help us to walk before you as your Beloved SON+ has taught us to walk and to forsake the false teachings of men. Help us to OVERCOME all things,

in JESUS' Name we ask.

Bro. Brendon Patrick  + + +

Order of the GOOD SHEPHERD+ 

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The CURE for Spiritual Sleep...

A Cure for Spiritual Sleep

This topic is so important that it bears repeating. Most of us are SLOPPY when it comes to discipleship. No military commander would let such sloppy discipline be established by his troops.  We neglect it and fall flat on our faces.  Even so, we must get up and work at discipline, PRACTICE IT, repenting for putting our sleep, our comfort before our disciplined worship towards The LORD. Let us ARISE AND GO FORWARD! The LORD LOVES discipline.

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How do you "cure" the condition of spiritual sleep ? [Assuming you love the LORD and have entered into the Covenant through Holy Baptism and Communion, you are then able to put this into practice.]

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Spiritual discipline awakens the soul. It becomes watchful, on a spiritual level.

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The first step is to submit the physical body to a spiritual life. 

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Flesh must become

subject to the Spirit.

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If you don't rule over the flesh,

your flesh will rule over you.  

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Thus, you must put into practice those things which will bring your flesh into submission:

>>> Make the flesh a wee bit uncomfortable. Walk in the cold or rain or snow, if you must, while you pray or recite Psalms or Scriptures. Do something. 

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>>> Pray outloud. Clean the atmosphere around you, as it were. Find a room... attic, cellar, or other place where your eye will not be tempted to think of temporal duties or things.

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>>> Change physical position.  Get on your knees with nothing to lean on. Stand. Walk. Make the sign of the cross as you mention HIS+ Name in your prayers. Raise your hands, your arms. Kneel as the knights did, on one knee, with their arm and fist across their body and heart, pledging their fidelity to their king.

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>>> Pray the Scriptures. Chant the Psalms with an easy one or two-note chant of your own making.

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.>>> Keep the 9, noon, and 3 o'clock prayer stations. Set an alarm to remind you. If you have children, call them into order at that time: stop your and their activities for a 5-minute prayer station.
It will teach them to honor The LORD, that HE+ comes before temporal activities... a valuable training! When they are old, they will not forsake your training.
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The Prayer Stations:  Recall the time of HIS+ crucifixion, for us. Recall how the world was darkened at the noontime hour. Recall HIS+ Words at 3 p.m.: FATHER, forgive them for they know not what they do. Give thanks, give thanks, give thanks... and repent of any sins The LORD brings to mind.
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[ Email me if you would like copies of the prayer stations we use here. They are Scriptural in nature, recalling what happened at those 3 hours. We also have worship Scriptures from Revelation. To do these stations takes less than 5 minutes, but they become anchors for your day, recalling you to CHRIST'S side every 3 hours. ]

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>>> Set aside the 6 p.m. hour for prayer and meditation with HIM+.

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>>>> Relate to all through CHRIST JESUS our LORD. Do not allow carnal nor simply "natural" interactions with others. Be pleasant, but redeem the time with your attitudes and words. Pray even as you interact with them.  

>>> Do what you can and HE+ will meet you there.

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Awake, Sleeper!

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Practice discipline.

Practice discipleship.

Practice putting your priorities in order to please The LORD.

Remember: The LORD LOVES DISCIPLINE.

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><(((> eMAIL Fellowship Prayer schedule

><(((> For the eMail Fellowship <(((><

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A SCHEDULE of RETURNS

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It is imperative that we start to train ourselves in CHRIST. This training will help us to abide in HIM+ throughout the day. Our training will bring forth growth, a closeness to CHRIST JESUS our LORD.

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This training is called discipline. NO... we do not "spank" ourselves! It is the discipline of training our bodies, our souls, and our spirits to SUBMIT UNTO THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD. It yields TREMENDOUS spiritual fruit when we do this.

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So, to begin, we will start with a SCHEDULE to help us RETURN TO GOD EVERY 3 HOURS, in an orderly way.

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Now DO NOT PANIC! :) There are many a times I have missed my "return." When I miss a prayer stop or a RETURN unto The LORD, I am regretful and sorry... and I pick up my Self and RETURN UNTO HIM+ ...immediately... forthwith... lickety-split!

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The RETURNS are NOT long. We can all fit them nicely into our work and responsibility schedules. Most of the prayer stops or RETURNS can be done in 5 minutes, through the day. The LENGTH IS NOT IMPORTANT: stopping your day to RETURN to HIM+ IS crucial.

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Here is what we do at the Order of the GOOD SHEPHERD+ hermitage:

1. Individual Morning Vigil...

We start our day by reading and praying , usually with our cup of morning drink in our hand! We do this individually, quietly, and privately. We start thanking the LORD, lifting up our hearts to HIM+ as soon as our feet touch the floor... sometimes before our head comes off of the pillow.

2. We do morning prayer together...

Morning prayer may be long or short, depending upon our needs. At the very least, we return thanks together and the LORD'S Prayer that HE+ taught HIS+ disciples. Usually we also include a Psalm, a short reading from the Gospel and one from the Epistle. We may sing or recite the Gloria or Doxology. Sometimes we follow the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, but not always.

3. STOP OUR DAY at 9 a.m...

when The LORD was crucified. We thank HIM+. We may read Psalm 51 or do something else to show HIM+ we remember HIS+ great sacrifice for us miserable sinners, that we may enter into Life Eternal. We repent for ignoring HIM+ for so many years and even now, for ignoring HIM+ so many times... turning a deaf ear to HIS+ call to us.

HE+ heard the shofar blow at the time of the Morning Sacrifice in the Temple... knowing full well that HE+ was the Sacrificed LAMB+ of GOD.

4. At noon, we STOP OUR DAY...

and return to The LORD, to thank HIM+ for enduring hanging on the cross for us. AT noontime, the sky was darkened across the earth on the day HE+ was crucified. We repent for our whinining and murmuring and impatience when things do not go our way.We ask HIM+ to help us to endure like HE+, our Example+, endured.

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5. At 3 p.m., we STOP OUR DAY...

and thank HIM+ again, for HE+ said, "It is finished, FATHER. Into Thy hands I commit my spirit." We thank HIM+ for winning the victory... and granting to us that same victory over death, hell, and the grave. We repent that we so easily yield to doubts and fears of this present life, instead of keeping our eyes on the Victory HE+ gained for us. We rejoice in HIS+ victory, our victory which HE+ has laid up for us, ...

and the Truth in the WORD of GOD that tells us so!

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6. We do evening prayer together...

This is usually a sufficient worship time, with Scripture readings, canticles, praises, thanksgivings, repentences, intercessions. We oftentimes follow the Anglican Prayer Book, with some modifications.

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7. Before bed, we do a short compline...

(completion of the day) prayer, with thanksgiving and asking for a safe and healthy keeping through the night, that HE+ may wake us up to HIS+ morning Light.

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This is the Schedule of RETURNS that we will use in the eMail Fellowship. If you cannot do ALL of them, then do one... but do it every day. Read a Psalm if you do not have a prayer book. RETURN thanks to HIM+. RETURN praise to HIM+. RETURN worship to HIM+. RETURN and repent as often as HE+ brings things to mind. This is our goal.

You will find yourself moving through your daily chores faster, easier, with more peace, than ever before... for HE+ blesses this kind of discipline... this kind of sowing to the Spirit. Our purpose is to TRAIN ourselves to continually sow to the Spirit.

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Enter in and let us see what The LORD will do!

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In the name of The FATHER, HIS Holy and

Beloved SON JESUS CHRIST our LORD,

and the Blessed HOLY SPIRIT,

both now and forever. Amen.

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Sister Judith Hannah

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The LONG and SHORT of it... VEILING for CHRISTIAN Sisters

Long Veils ....

Some sisters are simply NOT AFRAID ... they are not afraid of what anyone thinks of them... their head(s) belong to CHRIST. (This is what the good sister at www.freetocover.blogspot.com says.)

They are not afraid to make a statement to this dead and dying world that JESUS CHRIST IS ALIVE AND WELL...

...AND READY TO COME BACK!

The exciting thing about wearing a head covering is the opportunities, the doors, it opens for the one wearing it... both literal doors and spiritual doors for witnessing.

And short veils...

My eyes fill with TEARS when I am asked by a stranger, seeing me in a store, to pray for him/her. One young woman came up and poured out her heart to me in the middle of a store... she was desparate to find a church where PERSONAL DISCIPLESHIP was available. She was hungry, and she wanted to grow... and couldn't find a place to be mentored.

Why couldn't she find a place? The normal MODERN CHURCH does not promote actual, personal, discipleship. It just does sermons, songs, and activities.

It is impossible to grow deeper in CHRIST JESUS without personal discipleship... and that lady knew it. She was nearly in tears.

What could I say? I simply re-directed her back to JESUS. The church will be accountable for not feeding the hungry, for the lack of discipleship.

We are NOT SAVED to get a good job, a good education, a good career so that we can support the church institutuion.

We ARE SAVED to begin our walk with The LORD... closer and closer every day, closer and closer in every way, forsaking the world's ways and looks and taking Our LORD'S WORDS AT FACE VALUE: HE+ MEANS EVERY WORD HE+ SAYS.

If Our LORD is calling you to a deeper sacrifice, a deeper committment, a deeper discipleship... go there with HIM+.

I can guarantee that you will walk alone, even in the midst of a church... but it will be with HIM+. You will not BE by yourself, however, because you will have joined THE UNDERGROUND CHURCH... in America, and in each and every land.

Sisters, cover your heads. Cover your daughters' heads. Cover your husband and family in prayer. Cover your elders and your church in prayer. Cover your neighborhood in prayer.

You will be amazed at the order, peace, and strength in The LORD that will descend upon you. You will be a light NOT SET under a basket. The LORD Himself+ will draw others to you for mutual strengthening, for witnessing, for fellowship, and then... for ministry.

Walk! Walk! Walk!

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In the Name of the FATHER, the SON+, and the HOLY SPIRIT,

both now and forever. Amen.

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(A note for Tracy: thank you for your email.)

SISTERS: Always include your email address if you want a reply. If you don't, I cannot respond to your comments personally. The comments program on the blogspot always has "no reply" as the return address.

Sister Judith Hannah

Train up a child in the way he (she) should go...

...and when she is old, she will not depart the path.

GIFTS... VS... DISCIPLESHIP

Gifts... vs... Discipleship

We LIKE GIFTS!

The gifts from GOD are "... without repentance," according to the letter to Romans, 11:29. It says: For the gifts and calling of GOD are without repentance. His+ gifts are blessings for us, helping us through the struggles of life.

His+ GIFTS are freely given, freely dispensed as HE+ sees fit, being the Captain of the Battleground. HE+ equips various ones of us for The Battle... some in one way, some in another... according to what is needed to get the job done His+ way.

Some take the GIFTS as a sign that they are really special, kind of above the rest. I think the GIFTS are given to those who are least, to those who really are humble enough to receive them and humble enough to listen to His+ directives on how to use them. GIFTS are certainly no virtue on our part... but rather on His+ ! That HE+ would entrust us with His+ anointed GIFTS is amazing, in and of itself.

GIFTS come in many ways and for many purposes. I have a special one that helps me; it is what I call the gift of the conviction of sin. (Most wouldn't think of this as a "gift" from GOD, but I do.) No-one can even ENTER the Race without a conviction of sin upon the heart, which should lead to repentance and conversion and salvation. Likewise, no-one can STAY with HIM+ without the correction that this wonderful conviction brings. Woe to that man who turns a deaf ear to the conviction of sin sent upon him... whether he is regenerated or not!

I thank The LORD for giving this gift of His+ grace, called the conviction of sin. Where would we be if we didn't receive His+ conviction when we go astray in our heart? How blessed we are as a people, whom The LORD monitors closely enough to bring such conviction! How blessed, how holy, are those who listen closely enough to Their LORD to receive that conviction!

That goes hand in hand with The GIFT of the HOLY SPIRIT, as in Acts 2:38.

And yet, as splendid as the Gift of the HOLY SPIRIT is... it does NOT take the place of our own discipleship. The Baptism of the HOLY SPIRIT, the Anointing of His+ HOLY SPIRIT, does NOT do the walking in discipleship for us. It can pull us along, to some extent, if we are willing to walk in His+ ways. It can reveal to us what we NEED TO DO in order to walk with HIM+. It can "nudge" us along when we're dragging our feet. And, it can comfort us when we are hurt and sad, encouraging our hearts.

BUT... the HOLY SPIRIT CANNOT AND WILL NOT do "our" part in walking with The LORD. We must simply embrace the cross, embrace discipleship, in order to stay WITH The LORD once we are saved.

Discipleship is how we grow. It changes us from gangling youth into mature Christians.

Discipleship is what we do to return unto HIM+. It is how we pick up our cross and die daily to ourselves. Personal discipleship trains us how to die to ourselves and live unto CHRIST.

Our actual labor is not church attendance, as important as that may be. It is not participating in activities, as wholesome or as demanding as they may be. It is not even using the GIFTS HE+ gives us, as exciting as they are to see in operaton.

Discipleship is our gift to

HIM+.

QUESTIONS and ANSWERS

Questions and Answers...

Question: How do we practice dying daily, putting our flesh upon the Cross?

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Answer: By exercising daily discipline. Like a serious athlete in training for a competion THAT HE IS DETERMINED TO WIN, we discipline our spirits as well as our bodies.

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Question: How do we discipline our SPIRIT ?

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Answer: We correct our spirit by the use of spiritual means. Thus, we use the Word of GOD to correct our wayward hearts. First, we must NOURISH our spirit. This nourishment is even MORE IMPORTANT than our daily food for our bodies. We eat 3 times a day and munch even more. Let us therefore DETERMINE to TAKE THE TIME and figure out a way to nourish our spiritual man.

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Some read the Psalms, 3 per hour, at the top of the hour. Some read 20 Psalms a day. Some read them outloud or learn to memorize them or sing them. Exercises like that bring one's heart into worship and praise. It nourishes the spirit. It cleans the air of the workplace, office, garden, home, or vehicle.

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Some cannot or do not read. So... they purchase Scripture tapes and listen to them as they work.

Whatever it takes, we need to find a way to NOURISH OUR SPIRIT deeply... daily.

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Secondly, we correct our spirit by repenting WHEN WE CROSS THE WORD OF GOD... when we do not do what it says. If The LORD says, "Take no thought for the morrow," then HE+ meant exactly that! We repent each and every time we find ourselves taking those anxious thoughts for tomorrow upon ourselves.

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Thirdly, we replace those thoughts ---EACH AND EVERY TIME--- with Scripture. That is the way we resist the devil... and he will flee from us.

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Let us pray:

LORD JESUS CHRIST, our Savior, help us with our weakness and lack of diligence in following THEE+. Help us to learn to sow to the Spirit daily, looking less to our temporal activities and more to the things which will remain. Grant us this discipline, Gracious LORD, Who+ knoweth our frame and our concerns. We praise THEE+ for Thy+ constant help for us in needs both great and small. We bless THEE+ and thank THEE+ for showing us the Way out of our darkness ... and into Thy+ marvelous light. In Thy+ Holy Name we pray.

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Sister Judith Hannah

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The Pattern of the Early Christians...

The pattern of how the Early Christians --of the first 200 years-- practiced their Christianity is worthy of our attention. It was a powerful church, a church that spoke loudly ... without saying a word. The Early Church of the first 200 years stood unified against the heretics; indeed, their writings against the heresies show us vividly exactly what they believed, how they discerned Scriptures, and how they lived.

Without saying a word, their modest, unfashionable, and plain dress made them visible to and yes, targets in, their unregenerated world. It gave them ample opportunities to witness... both to the hungry souls yearning for the one true GOD and to the haters of GOD.

They spoke to their society wordlessly when they simply did NOT attend the theaters, sports, or events in the public arenas and stadiums. They would not go to the public bath houses. Nudity and nakedness in any degree were avoided. They stood out simply because they did not do the pleasure activities that were common in their societies. Mind you, they did not wear placards nor demonstrate on the sidewalk nor make any public protest; they simply withdrew themselves from attending these events. They knew how to separate themselves from worldliness.

They also refused to berate, gossip, or speak derogatorily of others. They practiced quietness, especially noticable in public. Loose, worldly talk nor jesting would not be heard in their somber interactions. They took the Word literally, that ...we must give an account for every idle word.

They were accused of being Christians, based on such evidence. Even one of the Roman rulers complained that the Christians lived such lives that "they not only feed their poor, they feed our poor also!"

The Christians were accused of not harming anyone, even their enemies. And, they never went to court to sue anyone. Christians would always suffer the wrong, with the hopes that

..."the blood of the martyrs would be the seed of the church."

Society considered Christians uncultured and even a danger to their society's values because they did not attend the common entertainment activities nor sporting events. What a tremendous witness, even though given in a form of accusation.

In this day and age, do we give enough evidence to the society around us that we are Christians... without opening our mouths? Are our values so distinctly different from the world around us that we make society uneasy... that something is drastically wrong?

If not, it's time to seek The LORD and change.

This is why The Order of the GOOD SHEPHERD+ patterns itself after the Early Church of the first 200 years. We follow CHRIST JESUS first; then we look to see the pattern lived out in the lives and writings of our Early Christian brethren.