Introduction
Dear Disillusioned,
Have you ever felt that this Christian life was falling short of what you see in the scriptures, have you come to the point in your walk with the Lord where something has to change, where you’ve always felt there was more, you knew it and you wanted it! No more books, no more sermons, no more empty promises. That is exactly where I found myself not so long ago, and if you will lend me your ear for a few pages, I think you will start to see a light at the end of the tunnel a light that you have been longing for and more important a light that the Lord has been longing to share with you all of your life. So join me for this wonderful trip out of the darkness and into the light, on the road to understanding and becoming who you really are in Christ! And ultimately walking in the complete Power and confidence of our Glorious Lord and Savior, Jesus the Messiah!
Over the next few pages you will be exposed to some Scriptures verses, and some thoughts and ideas that you may not have ever looked into before, or you may have never even knew they were there, either because you were never taught by your Pastor, (for whatever reason), or more likely because the both of you, as well as most of the entire Church (myself included) has been blinded by the enemy of our Souls! His plan is to keep the children of God in a state of defeat and ineffectiveness by deceiving us concerning the gifts, dominion, authority and power that was given to us in the garden and then reclaimed and bought for us at the Cross! And it goes without saying that satan has been very successful with his strategy over the last few thousand years! I myself lived most of my Christian life in this state of deception, fear and failure! It was only after years of pouring through His Word and asking God for wisdom and understanding concerning all these things, that my eyes were finally opened and the powerful light of God’s Word, so plain and clear was right there before my eye’s waiting for me to wake up and act on what His Word say’s!... Praise His Name Forever!
My friends, if even a small portion of the true body of Christ ever gets a hold of this, it would wreak havoc in the kingdom of darkness, and we would see what the scripture means when the Lord said, “the gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail against us!
Chapter 1
From Relationship to Religion to Relationship & Rejoicing!
So I am 20 plus years into this… this surrender, this wondrous treaty with God, the incredible King of all Creation, the all consuming Holy Presence that I’ve sensed and spoken to all of my conscious life. You see I had known Him and believed in Him sense I was a small child, He revealed himself to me many times but one in particular was when I was imprisoned in my bedroom by the evil warden Mom to take the dreaded nap, I was lying in bed that morning and looking out my window, I saw a big beautiful full moon in the day light, as I laid their I thought, that is just a big ball of dirt, floating around in this black stuff called space, and it’s suppose to be floating around the bigger ball of dirt that I live on, and were both floating around this huge ball of fire in this black stuff called space? Well first of all I thought, there is NO SUCH THING as Black Stuff Called Space! And there is no such thing as floating dirt balls, and just then as clear as a bell God put it in my heart that the only way there is floating dirt balls and black stuff called space is if He made it, and He let me understand very certainly that He did Make it and He made it all for us! I remember lying their letting this soak in and thinking how foolish it was for anyone to think it could have happened any other way, I mean there is no such thing as black stuff to float in! I really understood this and was in awe of God! This was BIG NEWS, so I got out of bed and ran out to tell my Mom that there is no such thing as black stuff called space unless God made it! I remember standing their thinking my Mom would start rejoicing with me over this incredible revelation and that it would change the world!, but she just made me go back to bed? You would think that if she suspected this to be just a ploy to get out of bed, that I, being only 4 years old would have at least gotten some kind of reward for coming up with this masterpiece! You got to admit this should have gotten me something, ice cream, early release for good behavior, or at least an, at a boy Greggie! Whats more amazing is that even after understanding this powerful word from God, I still never surrendered to Him till I was in my mid twenties.
Well in 1987 I was powerfully saved out in southern California several months after a childhood friend shared the simple Gospel with me. I was Born Again while I was out running one hung-over Saturday morning, and I have never looked back! (I had already been there and it wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be!)
So after 20 something years of this Journey with God, I realized I was dying inside, something was missing, I was completely disillusioned, not seeing any likeness between the believers in my Bible and the believers in my life! I had kind of drifted off into some kind of stupper, into this dead complacent Christianity, I now found myself desperately trying to do religious things to re-kindle the raging fire I had known and experienced, and then forgotten so many years earlier when I first surrendered my life to Jesus. Now all of the sudden it was like I was waking up out of some kind of fog, and I started remembering little moments of that terrifying exciting time with God when I first realized that the Spiritual realm was really true, even more true than this physical world which were imprisoned in. (for our 20 to life sentence) You see in the beginning I was willingly possessed by God and filled with His Holy Spirit!, it was all new and powerful, almost enchanting! My first few years of walking with Jesus were just me and His Word and the Holy Spirit, (I had not started going to any church yet) that honeymoon period was full of excitement and wonder, I experienced visions and revelations and powerful encounters with the Holy Spirit that would last for hours, and this was on a regular basis!
Just by the way, don't let anyone ever tell you that the so called honeymoon experience is ever suppose to end! This is an Eternal Adventure and the joy and Power and the excitment experienced during this Journey never ends whan you are walking in the dust of the Rabbi!
So with that said, approximately a year or so after I surrendered my life to Jesus I had to return to California to do some jail time in a county facility for some things I had done before becoming a believer, (I had moved to Georgia a few months earlier) I probably wouldn’t recommend this for everyone but the time I spent in jail was one of the most incredible times of spiritual growth I could ever hope for. If it wasn’t for the daily strip searches and constant concern of getting shanked by a certain Hispanic gang member that I had crossed swords with, it might of even been enjoyable! After getting out and going back to Georgia, and after visiting dozens of churches I ended up finding a little church where the youth group, (even thou I was older than all of them) kind of adopted me, I guess they thought the leathers and Harley were cool, anyhow I started attending on a regular basis, even thou I didn’t quite fit in right away (most of these folks didn’t even know anybody that had ever smoked cigarettes before, much less a pot head that had come from a life of drugs, alcohol and adult entertainment) but eventually I started doing what I saw everyone else doing, I thought that was what Christianity was,… go to church Sunday morning and evening and then again on Wednesday, and an occasional Christian concert or a revival meeting. Certainly these good people knew more about being a Christian than I did?!?,… or did they?
I learned about tithing, and not working on Sundays and someone said I shouldn’t dance or ware jewelry, others said that the women shouldn’t cut their hair or wear long pants? Other churches I visited before I settled into mine said we had to keep the Saturday Sabbath, or we weren’t saved, and still others said we shouldn’t play musical instruments and if we did we weren’t saved either? Some said we needed to light candles, pray to the saints and say 100 hail Mary’s! While others said I needed to go on a two year missionary trip and do some temple ritual? And then there were a few that I have no idea what they were saying because ah, they were ah, screaming so loud ah! (not to mention the sweating and spitting) The most amazing thing was that all these churches called themselves “Christian” and were all supposedly looking at the same book? Now I had been reading that Wonderful Book for thousands of hours and couldn’t figure out where the heck they came up with 99% of that garbage ah!
I guess the church I was going to looked a little closer to the New Testament church than some of the others… but still… NOT! And another thing I noticed, most every believer I ever met could barely afford to even live a modest lifestyle, while the New Testament 1st century church was described as “lacking nothing” and had all things in common and were able to give to the needy whenever necessary! While most of our churches were trying to support only a small handful of missionaries with money from bake sales, and car washes, it seemed the enemies faithful servants (Islamic Shake’s, & all the Buffet’s, Turner’s, Chavez’s and Heffner’s of the world) seemed to have all the money they needed and were hoarding Billions of dollars and funding all sorts of wickedness! Not to mention None of the believers I knew, or churches I went too seemed to walk in any of the Power that the New Testament believers walked in!
This should Not be so!!!
My Bible said; and these are the Miraculous signs that WILL Follow Believers! And when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, You SHALL be endowed with POWER! And that; The wealth of the wicked is laid up for the just! And; My God shall supply ALL my need’s according to HIS Riches an Glory! And…and…and! I knew it was true, I had experienced it!
Well after getting thoroughly “Churchnotized” I soon conformed to the Borg and drifted into that lukewarm fog I had mentioned. I am not sure how it happened nor when but I guess it was a combination of me just closing my eyes and starting to listen to those that taught us that these verses weren’t for us anymore, and then on top of that, I was thinking that maybe I wasn’t holy enough to earn that kind of life, or maybe I needed to repent some more or something? However it happened, the end result was, the cares of the world crept in and all those verses just went away, and faded from my mind! The devil had successfully snatched the seed away that had been planted in my heart.
The exciting powerful relationship I had with God was now completely sanitized and neutralized, then, the 20th century American Christian lifestyle,… the lifeless, powerless, monotoness, let’s just play church life kicked in, I got married and started having children and then,… it was 20 years later and I was here dyeing inside, under self imprisonment buy manmade law’s of Sunday worship and tithing as well as a bunch of other junk! By the way, we are gentiles and were never put under the law of Moses! Still there I was trying to keep law’s and living in absolute defeat, not realizing that the all powerful Glorious Savior that had radically changed my life, Jesus Christ was now made of no effect in my life!
Dear friend, please don’t do another thing until you go read the book of Galatians, read it five or six times if you need, and pray over it, this is key to what is keeping you and the church in bondage! Read it and you will see what has happened to the 21st century church! Gal 3:1-5 vs. 13-14 vs. 4:9 vs. 5:1-5
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
The Awakening
Transitioning Back To The Light
It’s only when you are willing to hear and deal with the truth that you are able to see the lie and deception you were under! When I was willing, God opened my eyes!
Thank God I didn’t go to church when I got saved! Yep that was the best thing that could happen to me after I surrendered my life to the Lord! During that time it was just me and my Bible and the Holy Spirit. I learned to depend on the Lord, and learned to hear the voice of the Spirit instead of the voice of man. Thank God for those first few years where I just spent time with Him! Now don’t get me wrong, I love church, but you better know your stuff before you walk into one of those places, it could really mess you up!
What would have happened to me if I hadn’t already known the Scriptures? What would have happened to me if I had not already experienced those wonderful powerful encounters with God? If after all that, I was still so completely confused, so shortly after walking into a church, what if I had ignorantly just went to church after getting saved?!... or worse yet, what if I got saved at church, talk about the blind leading the blind! Approximately 80 or 90% of the leadership of the so called body of Christ don’t even believe in the working presence of the Holy Spirit in their own life, so they certainly aren’t going to tell a new believer about Him. A new believer could go through their entire life in church and never hear about the power of the Holy Spirit that is available to all of us! I was so fortunate I had experienced the things I had with God, and was basically grounded in the Word before I ever set foot in a church. The Holy Spirit had something to work with, to bring back to remembrance, yet I was still mislead for years, and the devil was still able to steal the seed that was planted in me, how much more dangerous is it for a new Believer! That’s why Paul said that we need to be like the Breans, “searching the scriptures daily, to prove, what is the truth”! We are instructed over and over to “study His word to show what we are approved for”, “Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you”!
I truly loved God’s word and had many wonderful encounters with the Word during those powerless years but as I look back I really wasn’t desperate, I wasn’t totally willing to hear the truth, but I started remembering little glimpses of the Glory I had experienced. It was like I was waking up from getting hit on the head, like having amnesia, and starting to remember little bits and pieces, this here and that their. I think I was listening to Mark Ruttland, and he mentioned a verse out of the gospel of Mark, I really don’t even remember the verse, but it had been a while sense I read Marks gospel so I just dug in and started reading. It was as if I had never read the book before in my whole life! In the very first chapter the Lord is casting out demons on two different occasions and it never stops the whole way through. Cast a demon out here, cleanse a leper there, give sight to a blind man and then fuss at the disciples for not performing a miracle when they had the chance! It was amazing, how did I ignore all this for so long and not even question it? Why did I never hear a sermon on casting out demons, (Luke 10:17) or believers walking in the full power and authority of the resurrected Lord of the universe! From the first chapter of Mark to the last chapter Jesus was not just displaying miracles himself, but instructing the disciples to do the same, and rebuking them when they didn’t, (oh ye of little faith have I been with you so long and still you don’t believe!) Jesus was commanding them to force the demons out of people and heal the sick, to pray in spirit (tungs) and raise the dead! This was there marching orders, there blueprint on the everyday life of the believer, this is what the church is still called to do! Do we think we can just censor large portions of the Word of God in the New Testament that we aren’t comfortable with and still see the power and blessings of the Lord manifested? Can we ignore the Lords constant instructions and just “have it our way”, as if we get to say that we prefer our plan over God’s! Well that is exactly what satan has had us doing for the last two thousand years, and the church is completely without power and effect as it should be.
So now my eye’s are starting to get readjusted to the Light and after a few weeks of the Lord reacquainting me with His Whole Word, I started looking at the 21st century church and couldn’t find anything that was even close to the 1st century model that the Lord and the Apostles died to establish and will to us! So what had happened, how did we get so twisted up? I started talking to friends about what the Lord had been revealing to me and you would have thought I was telling them I was kidnapped by little green men! The leader of my small group Bible study’s head started spinning around and was ready to punch me out when I brought it up as the topic of my lesson one night when I was leading! And then as always, God started sending books and tapes and other people across my path that were waking up to the very same verses. I was seeing light on top of light and glory on top of glory, oh what a relief it was to be able to talk about these things and share what we were seeing! The more I died to me, the more Glory I could see manifesting all around! This thing I know as a fact, Surrender is the only way to discovering the incredible riches that God has for us in this life, this world right now! Surrender is the only way to this ever brightening Light and Glory, this wonderful freedom and power this thirst quenching Joy! Surrender ALL! Surrender ALL! Surrender ALL!!!
My life for years had been powerless, yet I knew deep down inside that there should be more, more of something, more of anything! I had prayed and prayed about all sorts of different things thru the years but saw ZERO results. What was I doing wrong, or was I so wicked, that God didn’t even hear my prayers? Now I know that there are basic laws and rights that I should have been informed of as a baby Christian, but I was ignorant of these teachings and apparently so were my elders.
Gal. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ! (and entitled to all the rights of the Son)
It’s only when you are willing to hear and deal with the truth that you are able to see the lie and deception you were under! When I was willing, God opened my eyes!
Thank God I didn’t go to church when I got saved! Yep that was the best thing that could happen to me after I surrendered my life to the Lord! During that time it was just me and my Bible and the Holy Spirit. I learned to depend on the Lord, and learned to hear the voice of the Spirit instead of the voice of man. Thank God for those first few years where I just spent time with Him! Now don’t get me wrong, I love church, but you better know your stuff before you walk into one of those places, it could really mess you up!
What would have happened to me if I hadn’t already known the Scriptures? What would have happened to me if I had not already experienced those wonderful powerful encounters with God? If after all that, I was still so completely confused, so shortly after walking into a church, what if I had ignorantly just went to church after getting saved?!... or worse yet, what if I got saved at church, talk about the blind leading the blind! Approximately 80 or 90% of the leadership of the so called body of Christ don’t even believe in the working presence of the Holy Spirit in their own life, so they certainly aren’t going to tell a new believer about Him. A new believer could go through their entire life in church and never hear about the power of the Holy Spirit that is available to all of us! I was so fortunate I had experienced the things I had with God, and was basically grounded in the Word before I ever set foot in a church. The Holy Spirit had something to work with, to bring back to remembrance, yet I was still mislead for years, and the devil was still able to steal the seed that was planted in me, how much more dangerous is it for a new Believer! That’s why Paul said that we need to be like the Breans, “searching the scriptures daily, to prove, what is the truth”! We are instructed over and over to “study His word to show what we are approved for”, “Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you”!
I truly loved God’s word and had many wonderful encounters with the Word during those powerless years but as I look back I really wasn’t desperate, I wasn’t totally willing to hear the truth, but I started remembering little glimpses of the Glory I had experienced. It was like I was waking up from getting hit on the head, like having amnesia, and starting to remember little bits and pieces, this here and that their. I think I was listening to Mark Ruttland, and he mentioned a verse out of the gospel of Mark, I really don’t even remember the verse, but it had been a while sense I read Marks gospel so I just dug in and started reading. It was as if I had never read the book before in my whole life! In the very first chapter the Lord is casting out demons on two different occasions and it never stops the whole way through. Cast a demon out here, cleanse a leper there, give sight to a blind man and then fuss at the disciples for not performing a miracle when they had the chance! It was amazing, how did I ignore all this for so long and not even question it? Why did I never hear a sermon on casting out demons, (Luke 10:17) or believers walking in the full power and authority of the resurrected Lord of the universe! From the first chapter of Mark to the last chapter Jesus was not just displaying miracles himself, but instructing the disciples to do the same, and rebuking them when they didn’t, (oh ye of little faith have I been with you so long and still you don’t believe!) Jesus was commanding them to force the demons out of people and heal the sick, to pray in spirit (tungs) and raise the dead! This was there marching orders, there blueprint on the everyday life of the believer, this is what the church is still called to do! Do we think we can just censor large portions of the Word of God in the New Testament that we aren’t comfortable with and still see the power and blessings of the Lord manifested? Can we ignore the Lords constant instructions and just “have it our way”, as if we get to say that we prefer our plan over God’s! Well that is exactly what satan has had us doing for the last two thousand years, and the church is completely without power and effect as it should be.
So now my eye’s are starting to get readjusted to the Light and after a few weeks of the Lord reacquainting me with His Whole Word, I started looking at the 21st century church and couldn’t find anything that was even close to the 1st century model that the Lord and the Apostles died to establish and will to us! So what had happened, how did we get so twisted up? I started talking to friends about what the Lord had been revealing to me and you would have thought I was telling them I was kidnapped by little green men! The leader of my small group Bible study’s head started spinning around and was ready to punch me out when I brought it up as the topic of my lesson one night when I was leading! And then as always, God started sending books and tapes and other people across my path that were waking up to the very same verses. I was seeing light on top of light and glory on top of glory, oh what a relief it was to be able to talk about these things and share what we were seeing! The more I died to me, the more Glory I could see manifesting all around! This thing I know as a fact, Surrender is the only way to discovering the incredible riches that God has for us in this life, this world right now! Surrender is the only way to this ever brightening Light and Glory, this wonderful freedom and power this thirst quenching Joy! Surrender ALL! Surrender ALL! Surrender ALL!!!
My life for years had been powerless, yet I knew deep down inside that there should be more, more of something, more of anything! I had prayed and prayed about all sorts of different things thru the years but saw ZERO results. What was I doing wrong, or was I so wicked, that God didn’t even hear my prayers? Now I know that there are basic laws and rights that I should have been informed of as a baby Christian, but I was ignorant of these teachings and apparently so were my elders.
Gal. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ! (and entitled to all the rights of the Son)
Monday, January 18, 2010
Nan's Pome
Broken hearts and broken dreams, another day of wandering,
another tear, the pain grows worse when will the LORD come
to break this Curse?
We’ve endured these days of Darkness and Sorrow,
but the New Day Dawns and Joy comes tomorrow!
GOD has filled our minds with images of Glory,
unfulfilled in this life, but we've not yet come to the end of the story!
For eye has NOT seen, nor the mind comprehended,
what GOD has for His children, when this life has ended!
So now you see clearly Mom, while we still look through a stained glass.
I love You Mommy n you know I Miss U!
another tear, the pain grows worse when will the LORD come
to break this Curse?
We’ve endured these days of Darkness and Sorrow,
but the New Day Dawns and Joy comes tomorrow!
GOD has filled our minds with images of Glory,
unfulfilled in this life, but we've not yet come to the end of the story!
For eye has NOT seen, nor the mind comprehended,
what GOD has for His children, when this life has ended!
So now you see clearly Mom, while we still look through a stained glass.
I love You Mommy n you know I Miss U!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The True Naked YOU!
Just thinking about something Ravi Zach. said at ch yesterday, he was talking about how we will all shed this body of corruption and stand as only Spirit! I think he was quoting C.S. Lewis...
How would that affect us now!?! If you were just pure spirit?, “Invisible”, would people like you or be attracted to you just by what you have to say, am I interesting or funny… or a JERK!?
We would all be who we “Really” are!!! Scary!
All of us, the genetically blessed beautiful people and the genetically disadvantaged will stand in their true Naked Invisible reality! The genetic lottery winners will no longer walk in the false confidence that is afforded to them through a lifetime of affirmation and praise for possessing something that they never had to learn nor earn. And the less fortunate, who swam in the wrong end of the gene pool, would never have to drudge through the unnecessary shame and ever present consciousness of their imperfections, struggling to hold their head up and walk in confidence!
We would all be accepted or rejected for who we really are! Would people like me or respect me for just who I am and what I have done for others? Do I have a servents heart that would make me more attractive? Or do i actually do anything for others that would truly count?
And if all my “friends” and acquaintances were just the invisible spirit part, what about those relationships?... as far as the same sex friends go, I don’t think it would change my feelings much, but if I am honest, I can think of a couple (the opposite sex) that I would probably be more attracted to! And a few that I am attracted to Now, that would no longer have any power over me, actually as I now think about it I would more likely be repelled by them, and Freed from this superficial and very unreasonable power they have over me or should I say… over my flesh!
Wow am I ever Shallow! Help me Lord and forgive me!
How would that affect us now!?! If you were just pure spirit?, “Invisible”, would people like you or be attracted to you just by what you have to say, am I interesting or funny… or a JERK!?
We would all be who we “Really” are!!! Scary!
All of us, the genetically blessed beautiful people and the genetically disadvantaged will stand in their true Naked Invisible reality! The genetic lottery winners will no longer walk in the false confidence that is afforded to them through a lifetime of affirmation and praise for possessing something that they never had to learn nor earn. And the less fortunate, who swam in the wrong end of the gene pool, would never have to drudge through the unnecessary shame and ever present consciousness of their imperfections, struggling to hold their head up and walk in confidence!
We would all be accepted or rejected for who we really are! Would people like me or respect me for just who I am and what I have done for others? Do I have a servents heart that would make me more attractive? Or do i actually do anything for others that would truly count?
And if all my “friends” and acquaintances were just the invisible spirit part, what about those relationships?... as far as the same sex friends go, I don’t think it would change my feelings much, but if I am honest, I can think of a couple (the opposite sex) that I would probably be more attracted to! And a few that I am attracted to Now, that would no longer have any power over me, actually as I now think about it I would more likely be repelled by them, and Freed from this superficial and very unreasonable power they have over me or should I say… over my flesh!
Wow am I ever Shallow! Help me Lord and forgive me!
Monday, April 6, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The Weary Warrior
Do you Walk The Road of Struggles?
Dear fellow Traveler, I am not sure how far you are
on your journey, but I want to Encourage you, and
Cheer you on, and give you Hope to Preserver!
The reward for those who Don't Give Up, those who
Don't Lose Hope, is well worth the struggles we
must endure! The pain of the battle is not worthy
to be compared to the Joy of the Victory!
I was talking with a friend the other day and he
mentioned a dream of himself and several others
standing in a large foyer with two huge doors in
front of them. The door on the right was wide open
and you could feel the warmth of a beautiful sunny
day pouring in. You could hear birds singing and
chirping, it was almost as if, it was a perfectly
orchestrated symphony, each bird singing in turn,
the music, if you will, seemed to fill the air and
came from all around you. And this wonderful smell,
this intoxicating aroma, a perfect combination
flowers, spices, and sweet fruit just ready to be picked!
It was completely overwhelming, you could actually
taste the air, and Feel the music! It made you want
to run in, and bask in the experience!
There was a sign above the door that read…
The Road of Your Prayers and Dreams
As you looked in you could see a pleasant looking
street with all kinds of shops and restaurants, this
was truly an unusual place, because everything was
extremely beautiful and everything was Absolutely
FREE! Now let me clarify… EVERYTHING WAS FREE!
Not just the little mini snacks at the grocery store,
but everything!... The clothes in the Beautiful
Designer Shops, the Diamond and Gold Jewelry in
the Exclusive Jewelry Stores, the most Beautiful
cars at the Luxury Automobile Dealerships!
All with no strings attached, Absolutely free! Now
this was not so for everyone, but just for the travelers
who entered through the door to the road of your
Prayers & Dreams! You see there were other people
there, but they appeared to be their just to serve
the travelers, at least that’s how the travelers
treated them.
As you looked on past the little shops and beautiful
homes, (every one of them spectacular,
everyone more beautiful than the next, and as
you guessed it, you could choose anyone of them,
for Free of course!) a little way down the road you
could see this Absolutely wonderful field, full of
flowers and fruit trees, the trees were heavy with
fruit and the flowers were in full bloom. There was
a perfect little road that wound through the field
and continued on as far as the eye could see.
I thought to myself, what a nice place to take a
walk or a hike, but all the travelers were either
in their Convertible Luxury Automobiles or riding
in fancy customized golf carts? I guess they
were tired from all the shopping and eating!
The travelers continued on their journey, on and on,
always shopping, always eating, but never satisfied.
For days and months and years it seemed, partaking
of all the most expensive and beautiful fair that this
country had to offer. They were entertained by
wonderful singers and musical troupes, and went to
all the latest plays, dressed in their most stunning
suits and gowns.
As they drove on there were many little shops and
stands to get more food or jewelry or different
customized golf carts with softer seats or newer
cars, with the tops Up, so they wouldn’t get too
hot, or their hair wouldn’t get messed up! And
they always seemed to complain how the food
was cold or not cooked just right, or the hair
dresser didn’t do their hair just the way they liked
it, or the service was too slow or the servants
were irritating commoners!
The road was now wide and smooth and passed by the
most Incredible scenery, with spectacular mountain views
in some places, and gorgeous turquoise oceans with white
sandy beaches in others. But the travelers mostly kept
there windows up and rarely looked out or noticed how
beautiful everything was, as a matter of fact most of
them slept while they now had their drivers do all the
driving, always moving them along the way, on an on.
The travelers stopped often now, to eat or to get more
stuff! I saw that some got very expensive horses, and
required more servants to ride and take care of them.
And some got huge yachts and new outfits to wear, just
in case they ever decided to actually go out on the
yachts. And of course they all got tremendous new
mansions at every stop of the journey and more
servants to take care of the estates.
I looked closely at many of the travelers, and noticed
that the farther they went on their way, the sicklier
and weaker they looked. Also they never looked
happy like you would think, for someone so blessed
with such an abundance of wealth and freedom. One
more thing I noticed was that few of them ever
laughed anymore, at least not about funny things,
like big floppy eared puppies or squirrels playing tag
up and down trees in the beautiful meadows, only
at other people, like when someone would drop
something or stumble or if they saw one of the
servants being mistreated, or when one of the other
travelers, (the ones they didn’t like) would get sick.
(and most of them didn’t seem to like anyone)
At this point I couldn’t see any further into the door
but, I think I had seen enough! It’s hard to explain
how something so beautiful could be so unattractive?
Then I looked and saw the other door on the left was
Opened… I had almost forgotten that it was there, I
was so intoxicated by what I saw through the door of
your dreams, until I saw the end result, and my senses
returned to me!
You could see a dark foreboding sky through this door,
there Were Peals of Deafening Thunder and Blinding
Lighting flashing all around, so intense that the whole
world seamed to shake! Through the door, a cold stale
wind blew, and on that wind there was a stench that
would almost make you gag, and without ever smelling
it before, you knew what it was, it was the smell of
Death, the stench of rotting flesh! Of man or beast I
don’t know, but I have a good guess.
There was a rugged sign above this door that read…
The Road of Struggles, Pain and Sorrow
There was rain pouring down and a freezing wind
screaming all around, like the sound of a thousand
dyeing ravens. As I peered into the darkness you
could just make out a jagged pathway, barely
distinguishable from the impassible terrain laid out
before them, them being the travelers who actually
chose to enter this door… this Nightmare!
(and by the way, there were no servants here!)
Just to look upon the trail was terrifying! As a side
note, I saw nothing stopping them from turning back,
as a matter of fact, none of them ever even looked
back, their eyes were fixed on some unseen reward,
some object of desire, drawing them on, something
greater than any obstacle in their path, greater than
any pain they would surly experience, or were
already experiencing!
The path seamed to wind up the side of a incredibly
treacherous Mountain. The rocks, if you could call
them that were more like Huge shards of glass, split
with razors sharp edges! It seemed As you looked
more intently you could see the whole path, hundreds
of miles long if not thousands. Along the sides of
the path and all the way up the mountain, you saw
very clearly, the eyes of all sorts of terrifying
creatures, poised to lunge at anything getting even
close to them… some Gigantic and some as small
and deadly as a scorpion, just staring and stalking,
waiting for their next victim!
The little walkway, in most places was on the very
edge of the Mountain, and was barely wide enough
to fit a mouse, much less an average man or woman.
Though I would hardly call anyone average that
would choose to walk this path!
And something I thought strange was, you could just
make out, what seemed to be a slight smile on the
faces of the travelers along the way! Some of these,
in the very act of intense combat with these vicious
creatures that would leap out from the crevices, as
the travelers would try to pass buy. But still they
pressed on as they continued to fight, always
pressing on! (and almost always smiling?) Further up
and further in, I would hear some of them shout,
further up and further in! What sort of incredible
prize would drive them on like this, so determined,
so steadfast!
On the few areas of the path that widened a little,
there was what looked like some sort of bog or
quicksand, either way it offered little no relief to
the travelers, or more correctly to the Hero’s,
(as I now found myself thinking of them) for they
were far less agile in that mire, and could barely
withstand the onslaught, from just one of these
hideous creatures, much less, sometimes as many
as 4 or 5 at a time, as it were! These despicable
Hordes seemed to gather together in these areas
where there potential victims were at an even greater
disadvantage, and could hardly withstand them as
they pushed on, and these fights, through the Boggs
would often rage on for hours and hours!
Occasionally, another traveler would enter the same
Bog and give some equilibrium to the battle, it was
so joyous to see the smiles on the faces of the
warriors as they realized they were now, not alone!
And a new energy seemed to fill the Weary
Travelers Soul, and they would fight on with a new
Vigor, a new re-doubled strength!
One thing that was quite curious, was that sometimes
after these horrific battles, where another traveler
would join the fight, (and usually just in time) as
soon as the battle was won, the second warrior could
no longer be found? I attributed it to my impaired
vision, but that has always puzzled me! Also the
remaining traveler seemed to be a little surprised,
but they would look around, smile, raise there
sword to the sky as a solute, and cry out Further
up and Further in!
It was quite obvious that these tormentors were
evidently cowards, and knew they were less likely
to fall off the cliffs when in battle on the boggs, not
too mention they could not fight as a pack on the
cliff’s, that is my closest guess anyhow!
What was even more disheartening was that the
path never seemed to level out, much less slope
down, only up and up and up, it never seemed to
give any respite, never offered any shelter from
the storm! And oh the storms they continued
with increasing intensity by the minute, not only
the driving rain and buffeting winds but the buckets
of water, the bitter cold water that poured down
the slopes of that wicked mountain! How they could
keep their footing at all was amazing! Sword
always drawn shield always poised to repel an
attack! They pushed on night after night… for it
never quite became day, only a little less dark.
The morning never coming they went on year after
year, battle after battle…
As I looked on I could not contain myself, the tears
poured down my face like the buckets of water that
poured down the mountainside, I sobbed desperately,
deep heaving sobs, not of fear for the warriors but,
some sort of pride in them or a Joy for them, for
each battle won! And the attacks continued on and
on! I could offer no help, I could only cry and Pray
for the Weary travelers, the Weary Hero’s… my Hero’s!
One more thing that was very amazing and puzzling
at the same time, was the faces of the Hero’s, as
they advanced further and further on their journey,
as the months and years wore on, they radiated a
sort of glow or an energy of some sort, that grew
stronger with each battle! They looked Regal and
Wise, and certainly Stronger and even more…
Beautiful, if you don’t mind calling a man beautiful,
the women, yes, of course, (and I did see many
women Hero’s on the path) but the word attractive
falls terribly short! Yes they were Beautiful, all very
very Beautiful!
You would think they would all look weary and
diminished, worn and haggard and bloody, but it
was just the opposite, the further they traveled, the
more battered and mangled the traveler, the More
Glorious they Grew! I wanted to know them, oh if I
could speak to one them, to hear their story,
to learn what drove them? I wanted to…
I wanted to enter the door and join the Travelers!
I wanted to follow the Weary Warriors!
I wanted to take the path of struggle!
I want to Become what only the path of Struggle can make me!
To You Weary Traveler, Weary Hero!
May God Bless You, and Keep You, as You Walk the Path!
Gregory James LaRev
P.S.
I feel I need to clarify my intention of this story,
this is Not a indictment against being wealthy, this
is a comment on the powerful effect that struggles
works in the life of a individuals character! Also I
believe I am accurate in my description of the end
result of a individual who has never had to work
for anything. I believe riches are never truly enjoyed
unless they are earned!
Friend true wealth is earned by effort, honor and
persistence, go and win your battle, the prize is
worth all the pain!
Dear fellow Traveler, I am not sure how far you are
on your journey, but I want to Encourage you, and
Cheer you on, and give you Hope to Preserver!
The reward for those who Don't Give Up, those who
Don't Lose Hope, is well worth the struggles we
must endure! The pain of the battle is not worthy
to be compared to the Joy of the Victory!
I was talking with a friend the other day and he
mentioned a dream of himself and several others
standing in a large foyer with two huge doors in
front of them. The door on the right was wide open
and you could feel the warmth of a beautiful sunny
day pouring in. You could hear birds singing and
chirping, it was almost as if, it was a perfectly
orchestrated symphony, each bird singing in turn,
the music, if you will, seemed to fill the air and
came from all around you. And this wonderful smell,
this intoxicating aroma, a perfect combination
flowers, spices, and sweet fruit just ready to be picked!
It was completely overwhelming, you could actually
taste the air, and Feel the music! It made you want
to run in, and bask in the experience!
There was a sign above the door that read…
The Road of Your Prayers and Dreams
As you looked in you could see a pleasant looking
street with all kinds of shops and restaurants, this
was truly an unusual place, because everything was
extremely beautiful and everything was Absolutely
FREE! Now let me clarify… EVERYTHING WAS FREE!
Not just the little mini snacks at the grocery store,
but everything!... The clothes in the Beautiful
Designer Shops, the Diamond and Gold Jewelry in
the Exclusive Jewelry Stores, the most Beautiful
cars at the Luxury Automobile Dealerships!
All with no strings attached, Absolutely free! Now
this was not so for everyone, but just for the travelers
who entered through the door to the road of your
Prayers & Dreams! You see there were other people
there, but they appeared to be their just to serve
the travelers, at least that’s how the travelers
treated them.
As you looked on past the little shops and beautiful
homes, (every one of them spectacular,
everyone more beautiful than the next, and as
you guessed it, you could choose anyone of them,
for Free of course!) a little way down the road you
could see this Absolutely wonderful field, full of
flowers and fruit trees, the trees were heavy with
fruit and the flowers were in full bloom. There was
a perfect little road that wound through the field
and continued on as far as the eye could see.
I thought to myself, what a nice place to take a
walk or a hike, but all the travelers were either
in their Convertible Luxury Automobiles or riding
in fancy customized golf carts? I guess they
were tired from all the shopping and eating!
The travelers continued on their journey, on and on,
always shopping, always eating, but never satisfied.
For days and months and years it seemed, partaking
of all the most expensive and beautiful fair that this
country had to offer. They were entertained by
wonderful singers and musical troupes, and went to
all the latest plays, dressed in their most stunning
suits and gowns.
As they drove on there were many little shops and
stands to get more food or jewelry or different
customized golf carts with softer seats or newer
cars, with the tops Up, so they wouldn’t get too
hot, or their hair wouldn’t get messed up! And
they always seemed to complain how the food
was cold or not cooked just right, or the hair
dresser didn’t do their hair just the way they liked
it, or the service was too slow or the servants
were irritating commoners!
The road was now wide and smooth and passed by the
most Incredible scenery, with spectacular mountain views
in some places, and gorgeous turquoise oceans with white
sandy beaches in others. But the travelers mostly kept
there windows up and rarely looked out or noticed how
beautiful everything was, as a matter of fact most of
them slept while they now had their drivers do all the
driving, always moving them along the way, on an on.
The travelers stopped often now, to eat or to get more
stuff! I saw that some got very expensive horses, and
required more servants to ride and take care of them.
And some got huge yachts and new outfits to wear, just
in case they ever decided to actually go out on the
yachts. And of course they all got tremendous new
mansions at every stop of the journey and more
servants to take care of the estates.
I looked closely at many of the travelers, and noticed
that the farther they went on their way, the sicklier
and weaker they looked. Also they never looked
happy like you would think, for someone so blessed
with such an abundance of wealth and freedom. One
more thing I noticed was that few of them ever
laughed anymore, at least not about funny things,
like big floppy eared puppies or squirrels playing tag
up and down trees in the beautiful meadows, only
at other people, like when someone would drop
something or stumble or if they saw one of the
servants being mistreated, or when one of the other
travelers, (the ones they didn’t like) would get sick.
(and most of them didn’t seem to like anyone)
At this point I couldn’t see any further into the door
but, I think I had seen enough! It’s hard to explain
how something so beautiful could be so unattractive?
Then I looked and saw the other door on the left was
Opened… I had almost forgotten that it was there, I
was so intoxicated by what I saw through the door of
your dreams, until I saw the end result, and my senses
returned to me!
You could see a dark foreboding sky through this door,
there Were Peals of Deafening Thunder and Blinding
Lighting flashing all around, so intense that the whole
world seamed to shake! Through the door, a cold stale
wind blew, and on that wind there was a stench that
would almost make you gag, and without ever smelling
it before, you knew what it was, it was the smell of
Death, the stench of rotting flesh! Of man or beast I
don’t know, but I have a good guess.
There was a rugged sign above this door that read…
The Road of Struggles, Pain and Sorrow
There was rain pouring down and a freezing wind
screaming all around, like the sound of a thousand
dyeing ravens. As I peered into the darkness you
could just make out a jagged pathway, barely
distinguishable from the impassible terrain laid out
before them, them being the travelers who actually
chose to enter this door… this Nightmare!
(and by the way, there were no servants here!)
Just to look upon the trail was terrifying! As a side
note, I saw nothing stopping them from turning back,
as a matter of fact, none of them ever even looked
back, their eyes were fixed on some unseen reward,
some object of desire, drawing them on, something
greater than any obstacle in their path, greater than
any pain they would surly experience, or were
already experiencing!
The path seamed to wind up the side of a incredibly
treacherous Mountain. The rocks, if you could call
them that were more like Huge shards of glass, split
with razors sharp edges! It seemed As you looked
more intently you could see the whole path, hundreds
of miles long if not thousands. Along the sides of
the path and all the way up the mountain, you saw
very clearly, the eyes of all sorts of terrifying
creatures, poised to lunge at anything getting even
close to them… some Gigantic and some as small
and deadly as a scorpion, just staring and stalking,
waiting for their next victim!
The little walkway, in most places was on the very
edge of the Mountain, and was barely wide enough
to fit a mouse, much less an average man or woman.
Though I would hardly call anyone average that
would choose to walk this path!
And something I thought strange was, you could just
make out, what seemed to be a slight smile on the
faces of the travelers along the way! Some of these,
in the very act of intense combat with these vicious
creatures that would leap out from the crevices, as
the travelers would try to pass buy. But still they
pressed on as they continued to fight, always
pressing on! (and almost always smiling?) Further up
and further in, I would hear some of them shout,
further up and further in! What sort of incredible
prize would drive them on like this, so determined,
so steadfast!
On the few areas of the path that widened a little,
there was what looked like some sort of bog or
quicksand, either way it offered little no relief to
the travelers, or more correctly to the Hero’s,
(as I now found myself thinking of them) for they
were far less agile in that mire, and could barely
withstand the onslaught, from just one of these
hideous creatures, much less, sometimes as many
as 4 or 5 at a time, as it were! These despicable
Hordes seemed to gather together in these areas
where there potential victims were at an even greater
disadvantage, and could hardly withstand them as
they pushed on, and these fights, through the Boggs
would often rage on for hours and hours!
Occasionally, another traveler would enter the same
Bog and give some equilibrium to the battle, it was
so joyous to see the smiles on the faces of the
warriors as they realized they were now, not alone!
And a new energy seemed to fill the Weary
Travelers Soul, and they would fight on with a new
Vigor, a new re-doubled strength!
One thing that was quite curious, was that sometimes
after these horrific battles, where another traveler
would join the fight, (and usually just in time) as
soon as the battle was won, the second warrior could
no longer be found? I attributed it to my impaired
vision, but that has always puzzled me! Also the
remaining traveler seemed to be a little surprised,
but they would look around, smile, raise there
sword to the sky as a solute, and cry out Further
up and Further in!
It was quite obvious that these tormentors were
evidently cowards, and knew they were less likely
to fall off the cliffs when in battle on the boggs, not
too mention they could not fight as a pack on the
cliff’s, that is my closest guess anyhow!
What was even more disheartening was that the
path never seemed to level out, much less slope
down, only up and up and up, it never seemed to
give any respite, never offered any shelter from
the storm! And oh the storms they continued
with increasing intensity by the minute, not only
the driving rain and buffeting winds but the buckets
of water, the bitter cold water that poured down
the slopes of that wicked mountain! How they could
keep their footing at all was amazing! Sword
always drawn shield always poised to repel an
attack! They pushed on night after night… for it
never quite became day, only a little less dark.
The morning never coming they went on year after
year, battle after battle…
As I looked on I could not contain myself, the tears
poured down my face like the buckets of water that
poured down the mountainside, I sobbed desperately,
deep heaving sobs, not of fear for the warriors but,
some sort of pride in them or a Joy for them, for
each battle won! And the attacks continued on and
on! I could offer no help, I could only cry and Pray
for the Weary travelers, the Weary Hero’s… my Hero’s!
One more thing that was very amazing and puzzling
at the same time, was the faces of the Hero’s, as
they advanced further and further on their journey,
as the months and years wore on, they radiated a
sort of glow or an energy of some sort, that grew
stronger with each battle! They looked Regal and
Wise, and certainly Stronger and even more…
Beautiful, if you don’t mind calling a man beautiful,
the women, yes, of course, (and I did see many
women Hero’s on the path) but the word attractive
falls terribly short! Yes they were Beautiful, all very
very Beautiful!
You would think they would all look weary and
diminished, worn and haggard and bloody, but it
was just the opposite, the further they traveled, the
more battered and mangled the traveler, the More
Glorious they Grew! I wanted to know them, oh if I
could speak to one them, to hear their story,
to learn what drove them? I wanted to…
I wanted to enter the door and join the Travelers!
I wanted to follow the Weary Warriors!
I wanted to take the path of struggle!
I want to Become what only the path of Struggle can make me!
To You Weary Traveler, Weary Hero!
May God Bless You, and Keep You, as You Walk the Path!
Gregory James LaRev
P.S.
I feel I need to clarify my intention of this story,
this is Not a indictment against being wealthy, this
is a comment on the powerful effect that struggles
works in the life of a individuals character! Also I
believe I am accurate in my description of the end
result of a individual who has never had to work
for anything. I believe riches are never truly enjoyed
unless they are earned!
Friend true wealth is earned by effort, honor and
persistence, go and win your battle, the prize is
worth all the pain!
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