"But I know you, that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in My Father's Name, and ye receive Me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive." John 5:42-43

"And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six." Revelation 13:16-18

"…I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10

Greetings, friends! I am going to let you in on a little secret which has the power to make this day one of the happiest you have ever known. But first, may I suggest that you have your Bible convenient, and turn to John 5, from which I will quote to you shortly.

Now, for the secret. As you are about to start your day, or go forth from the present moment, stretch your right hand forward slightly and up as you speak these words (or your own which carry the same meaning): "Lord Jesus, please take my hand and lead me throughout this entire day. I want You to be my Guide and Counselor; I want You in full charge, and I won't do even any back seat driving…."

That's it! Maybe you think it's crazy – and that it is indeed, if that is what you think. For, today it is well recognized that "as a man thinketh in his heart so is he" (Prov. 23:7). But may I remind you that to be a genuine Christian requires a considerable degree of insanity (as the world sees it). Remember the words of the inspired Paul wherein he wrote, "The preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God" (I Cor. 1:18). Some might draw a line of separation between being foolish or being crazy, yet such differentiation comes by degrees, and varies with the individual's perspective. As for instance, not so long ago a learned doctor wrote me saying, "To believe that the Bible is more inspired than other books becomes psychotic." Which, of course, was a somewhat highbrow way of telling me that I am quite crazy. However, I do not claim to "believe" that the Bible is inspired; I state emphatically that it is, because I know it. I have proven it in so many different ways that only a "fool" would dispute.

Now to get back to the little secret. Those words will do you no good unless there is something more behind them than the air-pressure which gave them utterance. And words merely uttered in the morning and then forgotten throughout the rest of the day will neither do the trick. They must be lived. Time and again come back to the same thought: "Lord, You lead the way." And often throughout the day, especially in moments of uncertainty, perplexity and concern, or when conditions are prone to grieve you, speak out these words: "My Blessed Lord is here and all is well." Never say that God is near, but always say "God is here." Practice incessantly getting into the consciousness of God's actual Presence in your life; not merely a hoped-for Presence when you are in deep prayer, or when you are in Church, but also when you are washing the dishes or driving to work or buying the groceries; whatever the place or the circumstance, perpetually come back to the thought as well as the audibly spoken words (if the situation permits): "God is here; my blessed Lord leads the way, and all is well."

My dearly beloved, I wish that you would be crazy enough to truly try it out in all seriousness; for I can assure that the results will be far greater than you dare to believe. But remember: no back seat driving! If you are prone to get angry, or speak out in a hurry, then instead of doing so, merely say, "God is here. My Lord Jesus, You handle the situation, for I am too dumb." Yes, I know, the learned doctor and many of his colleagues would say such behavior is utterly psychotic. But I personally know through the experience of a great many years, that this "psychosis" (as the world sees it) is the very power of God. My dearly beloved, should you never hear my voice again, or should you never go to church again, still remember about this little secret and conscientiously practice it; then before too long you will learn that you have come into the possession of a treasure, the value of which cannot be calculated in terms of gold.

Now, from the 5th chapter of John's Gospel, I want to quote to you verses 42 and 43:

"But I know you that ye have not the love of God in you. I am come in My Father's Name, and ye receive Me not; if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive."

You may have read the statements wherein I have stated that we cannot tie up God in a little bushel basket, neither can we confine the truth of His Word to one small page. Bear in mind that the words of Jesus were not the words of a man, but the words of very God issuing from the Throne-room in the heavenlies. Therefore can we take His words and view them from several perspectives. We may analyze and even dissect them, and the more we attack them, the greater the treasure they yield. Now, let us look at His words from various perspectives: the first and most casual one was that sad truth which He stated – that they would not receive Him. They rejected, cast Him out and killed Him. But before they killed Him, Judas Iscariot came to them, the integrity of whose word they accepted. To you and me, 30 pieces of silver means absolutely nothing, for the simple reason that we live in a different age, where values can scarcely be compared to those of our Lord's time. In those days, 30 pieces of silver was almost a little fortune. Yet, that money did the Jewish Priesthood stake on the word of Judas Iscariot, a traitor. That was the first application and fulfillment of the Lord's prophecy.

On the eve of the Lord's betrayal, He said to His disciples, "...the prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in Me" (Jn. 14:30). When we consider other prophecies of the Lord bearing on the same matter, as well as giving a look to the pages of history, and taking a bird's-eye view of the present world, we recognize beyond any shadow of doubt that Lucifer, who is the prince of this world, did come and was accepted, and has remained in good standing until this very hour. It is he who sowed the tares while men slept (Matt. 13:25). The world has eaten of the tare-seed and become both sick and blind and, because of its blindness, a stygian night of horrible darkness has reigned into this very hour.

Before many years are passed we should see the Jewish nation accept a great leader to whom they will become fully obedient. Presumably he will be of Jewish ancestry, at least in a measure, otherwise Israel would not accept him. It is he who will be so largely instrumental in bringing this world to its knees in great sorrow, as well as in frantic prayer. I am not too certain, but I surmise that it is the same man whom a great many nations will likewise accept for their leader. Just how is still too early to predict, but I would not be surprised if it is he who becomes the head of the United Nations Organization, for it is that body, the Word of God clearly predicts, which will lead the whole world astray.

Now back to this world which is the kingdom of Lucifer. If you believe the Bible, how is it possible that you can kid yourself into believing that Christendom of today has and knows the true teachings of Jesus the Christ? As His eyes scanned the vista of the ages to come, and He looked into this era and His return to earth, He spoke these words: "When the Son of man returneth, indeed will He find the faith on earth?" (Lk. 18:8). By which words we see that the Lord, having surveyed the situation and taking stock of the doctrines of men peddled in the Name of Jesus Christ, summed it up by saying, "Indeed, will He find the faith on earth?" That became the equivalent of saying that the teachings rampant today are mostly false....

If you look about and think even a little bit, you will realize for yourself the fantastic nature of the teachings common to present Christendom. Jesus the Christ dealt with man's earth-life, with human problems and vicissitudes, with man's griefs and tragedies, and never spent as much as one minute of His time talking about the human soul. By contrast, look at our churches of today and their teachings: they fail utterly to deal with the problems of mortal man as did Jesus the Christ, and since they are not able to deal with man's everyday problems, griefs and tragedies, they resort to pie-in-the-sky for the human soul after a person is dead. It took Lucifer to invent such a subterfuge! And men have swallowed it hook, line and sinker.

Hear the words of the Christ: "I am come that ye might have life, and that ye might have it more abundantly" (Jn. 10:10). The very spirit of those words translated into deeds is what the Christ manifested during His ministry. And on the eve of His departure, on that solemn night with His disciples, He did not paint a gloomy picture – in fact, far from it. Hear His words: "These words have I spoken unto you that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" (Jn. 15:11). Again He said, "Hitherto ye have asked nothing in My Name; ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full" (Jn. 16:24). And changing His words ever so slightly, He said, "I will not leave you bereaved, I will come to you" (Jn. 14:18). Here, through His interlocking words, we see that His Presence would remain with us, constituting a spiritual Kingdom superimposed upon this world, through which our joys were to be absolutely filled. What a contrast to the tragedies we behold common to man, and the funeral dirge which is become Christendom's basic anthem!

"I am come in My Father's Name, and ye receive Me not..." (Jn. 5:43). How sadly true those words have become.... The bounties of the Kingdom of God for man here and now, the health, strength and overflowing happiness, constitute the fundamental heritage of the sons and daughters of Jesus Christ who commence to live in His Kingdom for the here and now.

Sometimes I wonder how it is possible for people to believe that their "souls" will be saved, yet have no faith whatever that God will do anything for them here and now. Perhaps it is because of the abundance of grief, trouble and tragedy we behold all about us, that they can't believe in a present Savior. But if so, what can enable them to believe for the future life? My guess is that most of them can only hope....

That is another reason I drum away about a PRESENT Savior. When you commence to live as a son or daughter of Jesus Christ in His Kingdom for the here and now, and see almost from day to day the evidence of His mighty hand in your life, then will you KNOW that your "Savior" today will be the very same tomorrow, be that here or in another world.

WHY carry a bunch of grief through life, when the Son of God paid your penalty?

The average "Christian" of today, even those who think of themselves as "good Christians" who "love their Lord," have as yet not arrived at first base! Their "brainwashings" have placed their feet on the wrong path.

The glorious ATONEMENT wrought out by the Son of God was complete and ABSOLUTELY PERFECT: it was for the entire being of man in this present life – reaching through eternity.

AROUSE – you snorers! RISE UP – you sleepers! Start to laugh and shout and sing, for, your present KEEPER is none less than Christ our KING!