A Lovely Encounter

I just had an interesting encounter with a person here at the office I have never seen before. I was taking some boxes out to my car when she came into the elevator and asked me point blank: "Do you work here? What do you do for a living?" I paused and then felt the Spirit moving in my heart. I looked at her and said: "Yes I work here. I love."

She look puzzled and said, "No, how do you make money in your job here?"

I said: "All I do is love. I take whatever the Lord provides me. Whatever He gives me is enough."

She said: "Ah, I see, you don't do things for money."

I said "No, I let love lead the way."

As we were getting off the elevator, she looked at me and said I had an interesting perspective on things. I smiled and said: "My perspective is very simple: "Love is Life."

As I was heading back into the office building, a car pulled up next to me. It was the woman I spoke to in the elevator. She looked at me and said:

"Thank you for sharing your perspective with me. It helped. It helped a lot!"

I smiled and said: "God bless you."

What a wonderful encounter! The Lord touched another heart today.

May the Lord touch your heart.

Agape,

Steve

Religion vs. Spirit

Throughout my travels, I often hear people speaking about those who have seen God through revelation and are now walking in love as being "religious." I shudder when I hear this. There is nothing religious about walking in love. Those who walk in love are in Christ. It's a Spiritual existence. There is no religion inside Christ. There is only love, for God is love (1 John 4:8) and God is spirit (John 4:24). We worship God in spirit - not in religion. In fact, we must worship Him in spirit (John 4:24).

Now, this is not to say that there is no religion on this planet. In fact, there is far too much of it! Chip Brogden at The School of Christ has a nice description of the difference between religion and the Spirit. Here's how Chip puts it:

Religion is based on what I have accomplished and what I am doing, while spirituality is based on what Christ has accomplished and what He is doing.

Religious hearts haven't been crucified with Christ via the Cross. Spiritual hearts have been crucified with Christ. That's the key difference!

As Paul told the Galatians:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
(Galatians 2:20)

Paul (formerly Saul of Tarsus) was one of the most religious men on the planet before he saw Christ. Listen to what Paul says about his religious past:

If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless. But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:4-11)

Paul's religion became "rubbish" when he saw Christ. Hallelujah!!! That is precisely what happens when you see God and become entangled with Christ through the Spirit. Religion and religious things fall away. They aren't important. You don't need them. All you need is Christ. His love reigns supreme. He is enough!

May you see God and may His love reign supreme in your surrendered heart.

Agape,

Steve

The Cause of Misery

A good friend of mine recommended some books by Dr. Stephen Crosby. I haven't read anything by Crosby before, but I have to say I'm enjoying what I'm reading. I came across this little gem from his book "Silent Killers of Faith:"

"Religion without love has been responsible for most of the world's misery."

I think this is right on the money. You think about all the darkness that has been generated by religious authorities and fundamentalist followers in the name of God and you see one thing in common: there is no love in their heart.

May you have nothing but the Lord's never-failing love in your heart.

Agape,

Steve

The Riches of an Open Heaven

The Lord gave me a vision for an ambient guitar project I've been thinking about doing for a while now. The vision came on Sunday morning at 2:30 am. The project would be called "Open Heaven" and the music would be set around the theme of discovering and living in an open heaven.

I've written several blogs about an open heaven, so I won't go into the concept in any great detail here. Suffice it to say that in an open heaven, there is nothing standing in the way of the connection between our heart and God's heart. It's a Spirit-to-spirit connection. In an open heaven, we become One with God.

This morning, as I was doing my daily mediation, I came across a passage by T. Austin-Sparks that resonated with the vision the Lord gave me over the weekend. Here's what Sparks' said:

The nearer the earth and its temporal life Christendom has got, the more and greater have such things as ritual had a place. Ritual, Rites, Vestments, Ceremony, Formality, and such like externals have always been the marks of low and poor spiritual conditions, and the measure of importance given to them is always an index to spiritual measure. On the other hand, a deep, strong, pure spiritual state has always been marked by simplicity and an absence of the above. History proves this beyond a doubt, and tides of the Spirit are outstanding evidence of it. The days of the Church's greatest spiritual power and impact were days when ecclesiastical forms, architecture and ritual were nil, and the Lord Himself was everything.

There are a lot of Christians who believe that Christianity is all about formal things - rituals, rites, vestments, ceremonies, formalities. But as Sparks notes, when these things become the focus of people, spiritual conditions decline rapidly. During such times, Love vanishes. And we know one thing: When there is no Love, there is nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2).

Spiritual power is at its maximum when the Lord Himself becomes the sole focus. And this is precisely what living in an open heaven is all about - it's about the Lord. It's about being entangled with His Spirit and walking in Love. It's not something we do. It is something He does through us. When we become entangled with the Lord and live in an open heaven. the Spirit guides our hearts minute to minute, day to day, week to week, month to month and year to year.

In an open heaven, we are reduced to Love (1 John 4:8).

May you live in an open heaven.

Agape,

Steve

Heavenly Vision

"...the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad..."
(Hosea 9:7).

Chip Brogden at The School of Christ sent out a little message to his daily 'Infinite Supply" readers on prophets that I would like to share with you today. His piece dovetails nicely with the blogs I have posted over the past week.

Here's what Chip sent out:

If a prophet is anything, he is extra-terrestrial - above the Earth. He walks the Earth with others, but he is not of the Earth. He is from beyond; he is from above. If we trace his history we will find that he may or may not have had a normal childhood. He may or may not have come through extraordinary experiences. But at some point in his life, either as a child, or as a young adult, or as an old man, something from another realm broke through the thin membrane between Heaven and Earth and took hold of him. It may have been a burning bush, or a Voice crying out to him from beyond the veil, or a Heavenly Vision which brought him briefly into contact with something and Someone that he could not completely fathom.

However it happened, for one moment at least, the clouds parted and the veil was rent, and he saw something that is unseeable; he heard something that is unhearable; Heaven itself was opened up to him, and he saw into another world. The thing he saw and heard now burdens him like a mantle that has been draped over his shoulders. He feels its weight, for it is with him day and night, whether he is eating or drinking, working or resting. It is the impression that everything around him is a lie, and what he has seen and heard is the Truth, and this Truth is not static, but it is living, growing, and increasing within him from the day it comes to him in the form of a seed.

The concept of an open heaven is an important one. Spiritual men, women and children live in an open heaven. Following revelation, they see God and become new creations. Their hearts become entangled with Christ through the Spirit. There is nothing blocking or interfering with that connection - no man-made church, no priest, no pastor, no minister. We can try to dress this process up with religious things, as many people have tried to do over the centuries, but it adds no value. God has spoken clearly through the Prophets. His message is as clear as day:

"I have no religion. I Am Love."

God is love.
(1 John 4:8)

God's love is not divided into 40,000 denominations, as modern day Christianity is today. His love cannot be broken down into little pieces. It is the most powerful force in the universe. It is Eternal. It is the Beginning and the End - the Alpha and the Omega. God's love never fails. It is perfect. It casts out all fear.

When a heart becomes entangled with God though the Spirit, that heart begins to radiate God's love (what the ancient Greek's called "Agape"). God's love is superior to any love in the universe. It cannot be extinguished. Try to kill the body that is entangled with the Spirit and radiates God's love, as the Pharisees did with Jesus, and it comes right back to life. The testimony of Jesus, as recorded in the New Testament, is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10).

The main problem throughout history is that many people cannot hear the voice of the Prophet. Living in a closed heaven, and entangled with religious things, they simply don't have the faculty to hear. They don't hear because they haven't seen. It doesn't matter how many times you go to church, how many small group sessions you do each week, how many things you do for God, if you haven't seen and cannot hear, you cannot imitate God and walk in love. (Ephesians 5:1-2)

All of the Prophets saw and heard. They all were entangled with God through the Spirit. They all walked in love. They worshipped God. That said, the Prophets were despised and hated by religious hearts. Religious hearts are an enemy of the Spirit, as I discussed in yesterday's blog. But all of the prophets were blessed by God and have their place in His kingdom. As the Lord said:

"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:11-12)

May you see God and hear His voice.

Agape,

Steve

A Religious Heart is an Enemy of the Spirit

"Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was, I Am."
(John 8:58)

Jesus was telling the Pharisees the truth about who He was in John, Chapter 8, but the religious leaders weren't having any of it. From what they could see, they were listening to a man who was in his early thirties. After the Lord finished speaking, we are told the Pharisees promptly picked up stones and began throwing them at Him.

Nice guys, those Pharisees! They will defend the God of their religion to the death, but when it comes to embracing the Spirit - the source of eternal Life itself - they will have nothing to do with it. And therein lies the problem with a religious heart. It is an enemy of Christ. A religious heart will try to kill whatever heart the Spirit is residing in. A religious heart says: "The Spirit inside your heart must be extinguished."

There is only one problem with the modus operandi of a religious heart: The Spirit cannot be extinguished.

Jesus is proof of this. No sooner did the Pharisees think they had done away with Jesus for good, He reappeared! The disciples saw the Lord after the crucifixion. Mary was the first to see Jesus. But the Lord didn't stop with the disciples. He had much work to do, just as the prophets before Jesus had prophesied. There was a whole world outside of Israel to conquer. The Jews would now be left behind, left to tend to their religion and their religious hearts.

To show you how magnificent the Lord is, consider the fact that He choose a former Pharisee - a man with a religious heart of stone - to lead the charge out of Israel into the land of the Gentiles. Saul of Tarsus, a self-proclaimed "Hebrews of Hebrews, from the tribe of Benjamin" (Philippians 3:5) was on his way to capture followers of Christ when Jesus appeared and spoke to his heart. Instantly, Saul's heart was transformed by the Spirit. A former enemy of Christ, Saul became filled with the Spirit, changed his name to Paul (a new creation!), and became a mighty conduit for the Spirit. Some two-thirds of the New Testament is comprised of letters written by the Spirit through Paul.

There is nothing quite so beautiful as a religious heart transformed into a Spirit-filled heart. Ahhhhhhhh...

Entangled with the Spirit, Paul did God's will. He could now hear the voice of the Spirit. The Spirit poured through Paul's heart. Like many other Spirit-filled hearts before him, Paul's body was eventually extinguished prematurely by hearts that were disconnected from Christ. But nevertheless, he lives on. God sees to that. Eternal life and Spirit-filled hearts go hand in hand.

There is nothing a religious heart can do to stand in the Lord's way. That is the mighty power of the Christ and the Cross.

The Cross signifies God's will. By going to the Cross, Jesus was doing the will of God. We carry our crosses daily to show that God's will is our will - that we are completely entangled with the Spirit. The Cross is central to following the Spirit. Without the Cross, it is impossible to enter through the narrow gate and walk the path that leads to eternal life. As the Lord said:

"And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it."
(Matthew 10:38-39)

Jesus told us clearly that the Spirit inside our hearts would be attacked by religious hearts. He gave us confident words to stand our ground. The Lord said:

"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
(Matthew 5:11-12)

Jesus always told the truth. As the Lord said:

"God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
(John 4:24)

May your heart be entangled with the Spirit and may God's will be your will.

Agape,

Steve

Why The Jews Rejected Jesus - A Retort

"They knew not... the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath."
(Acts 13:27)

"For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
(Revelation 19:10)

Some years ago, not long after my revelation of Christ, I purchased a book titled "Why The Jews Rejected Jesus: The Turning Point in Western History," by David Klinghoffer. I recall reading the book and being intrigued with Mr. Klinghoffer's perspective of the subject. He listed many reasons why the Jews rejected Jesus. He also spent some time discrediting a few prominent former Jewish religious leaders who saw Jesus as the Christ (e.g., Saul of Tarsus). The rejection of Jesus by the Jews, argued Klinghoffer, was a turning point in western history.

After reading Kinghoffer's book. my heart told me something was seriously amiss with what he was saying in his book. I couldn't put my finger on what was wrong, so I let it go. That was about three years ago.

Today, having spent a great deal more time with the Lord along the narrow path, I now realize what was bothering me. Kinghoffer, like many of his fellow Jews, has never seen Christ. The lack of seeing, in fact, has been THE key issue with the Jews since Adam and Eve.

Yes, it is true the Jews rejected Jesus. But the reasons Kinghoffer gives are way off base. The truth is the Jews have a long and illustrious history of rejecting prophets, including Jesus. The reason they rejected Jesus and the prophets is because they hadn't seen and could not hear God's voice. Seeing and hearing are critical. If you haven't seen and can't hear the voice of the prophet, you will reject them. Often times, the rejection is violent (e.g, Sawing Isaiah in half, nailing Jesus to a cross.)

Here's a little passage written by T. Austin-Sparks that hits the nail on the head:

Israel, as a nation, not believing and being born again, was doubly deaf by a judgment. This is the first thing that Isaiah says and 'voices' in relation to the Son of God. We have heard, read and said much about Isaiah 6, the Throne and the Lord upon it; the Train and the Temple; the Seraphim and their thrice Holy chant. Also the cry of woe from the Prophet, and his call and response to God's appeal. But we have learned little of the terrible issue of his commission. We know that Isaiah was read in the synagogues of Israel, for at Nazareth the ruler of the synagogue handed that Prophet to Jesus to read publicly. The Ethiopian eunuch of Acts 8 had been to Jerusalem and probably secured from the Temple or synagogue a copy of Isaiah's prophecies and was reading it in his chariot. He confessed his blindness as to its meaning, and confessing in humility, his blindness was removed. "He went on his way rejoicing," while Israel - who had the same scrolls - went on their way to perdition. It is not what we have, but what we know that we have, and whether what we have changes our lives, that matters.

The Holy Spirit, who inspired the Prophets (1 Peter 1:11), made the Apostles and believers understand that it was as the Spirit of Christ in them (the Prophets) that they wrote of Him. Thus they saw Jesus by the Holy Spirit where those who had not the Spirit were blind.

Saul of Tarsus saw Christ. The disciples saw Christ after Jesus was crucified. Stephen saw Christ. Among all of the disciples, we know that Mary and John had powerful revelations of Christ. Mary was the first to see Christ Jesus after His crucifixion. John's powerful revelation of Christ is the last book of the Bible.

What is important to note is that after their revelations - that is, after they saw Christ - Saul of Tarsus, Stephen, John, Mary, and the other disciples could hear the voices of the prophets. They could hear! After seeing the Lord, they could hear the voice! It is no coincidence that Isaiah is quoted frequently in the New Testament. Isaiah's prophetic ministry was a microcosm of the entire Bible. Isaiah had seen Christ.

All the prophets have one thing in common - they all have seen Christ through revelation.

Although I didn't realize it at the time, it was the lack of seeing that was what was nagging at me while I was reading Klinghoffer's book. Klinghoffer, like many of his Jewish descendants, hadn't seen. That explains everything.

What is the consequence of not seeing. For the Jews, it has been God moving on. The Jews rejected Jesus, and God has moved on. In effect, The Lord has rejected the Jews. Now, we can say that this is a harsh statement, but the fact of the matter is that God told the Jews through the prophets that this was going to happen if they did not have a change of heart. Go back and read the prophets in the Old Testament. You will see that time and time again, God was reaching out to the Jews trying to get them to change their hearts. Listen to the Spirit through the prophet Ezekiel:

"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh." (Ezekiel 11:19)

Now, you may ask, why does God require a change of heart? The reason is simple: Seeing God requires a pure heart.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8)

Pure hearts see God. Seeing God allows one to hear the voice of the prophets. Seeing through revelation is the event that entangles hearts with the Spirit. Listen to the Spirit through Paul at Ephesus:

"Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come." (Ephesians 1:15-21)

What a powerful prayer! To pray that God reveals Himself to you so that you can hear Him and be enlightened. This is perhaps the most powerful prayer in the Bible.

What happens after you see God? You become a new creation. Your religion falls away. Love becomes the driving force in your life. Paul's letters, which comprised some two-thirds of the New Testament, are all about letting go of religion (in his case, Judaism), and embracing love. I could write an entire book on this one topic alone. Klinghoffer blasts Saul of Tarsus in his book, but fails to see the remarkable transformation of his heart after seeing Christ.

If I wanted to write a book refuting Kinghoffer's thesis in "Why the Jews Rejected Jesus," I would start out with a simple and powerful truth: "The Jews rejected Jesus, and all of the other prophets, because their hearts were not pure and they had not seen God and could not hear His voice."

Ironically, many Christians today have the same problem. They haven't seen Christ and therefore they can't hear His voice. This explains the lack of love we observe throughout Christianity today.

And I would make one other point about Klinghoffer's book. The subtitle is true, but it is incomplete. The Jews rejection of Jesus was not just a turning point in Western history, it was a pivitol moment in the history of the mankind. Through the crucifixion of Jesus, man witnessed an eternal truth in the Kingdom of God, and that truth is:

You can try to kill God's heart of true love, but it is futile. His love never fails and cannot be extinguished. It is the most powerful life-giving and sustaining force in the universe.

The resurrection of Jesus is proof of this eternal truth.

May God give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened.

Agape,

Steve

Beware Flowing Robes

Since my revelation of Christ, I have found it increasingly difficult to look at religious leaders adorned in their robes, hats and other religious clothing. There is something greatly unsettling about these images. I was discussing this topic with Christine recently, and she reminded me of some Scripture in the Gospel of Mark that addressed this issue head on. In Mark, Chapter 12, we read:

"As he taught, Jesus said, "Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely." (Mark 12:38-40)

Isn't that striking? Here we have, as clear as day, Jesus telling us that we should watch out for those religious leaders that walk around in flowing robes. And yet, we have religious leader after religious leader donning the flowing robes and going out into the world pretending to preach the Gospel.

Something is definitely wrong with this behavior. Jesus, in fact, told us so. The Lord said:

Such men will be punished most severely.
(Mark 12:40)

If you are finding yourself turned off by the appearance of religious leaders, you can take some solace in knowing that the Lord will be dealing with these impure and evil hearts in due time.

May your heart be pure and may you see Christ as all in all.

Agape,

Steve

Love conquers all

I was catching up on some reading this morning and came across this quote:

"Whenever you are confronted with an opponent, conquer him with love."
- Mahatma Gandhi

Sounds like Christ to me.

May you conquer all your opponents with love.

Agape,

Steve

Light from Above

It's the morning after a Sweetbird performance. Last night, Christine and I performed as a duo, like old times, at the Huntington Street Cafe in Shelton, CT. The weather was awful for a Friday in mid May - cold, windy and rainy. Not a good night to be out and about, especially with gas prices hovering around $4.00 a gallon.

As we got up on stage to begin playing, there was hardly a soul in the house. Most of the chairs were empty. There were five people in a cafe that comfortably seats 40 people. Any performer or group would have looked out in the audience and noticed that they were playing to chairs, not people. The thought of playing to chairs had occurred to me earlier in the day as I drove through the pouring rain to work and saw a sign at the Gulf gas station that read "$3.93 a gallon."

The awful weather and several inauspicious events that had occurred earlier during the week prompted me to ask the Lord what was really going on this evening. Sadly, I was wavering a bit in my faith, and badly needed some light from the Lord. Nothing seemed to be going Sweetbird's way. Our percussion player was in a bad car accident the week before and couldn't play. The band was in limbo. Hamstrung, as it were.

As we set up to play at the Huntington Street Cafe amid the rows of empty tables, I remained hopeful that He would shine some light on the purpose of the evening.

We played a few songs and started to get warmed up. As we continued playing, I noticed there were a few people connecting strongly to the music. Some of them were singing the words along with Christine. They knew the songs. I watched their lips move in synch with the music.

Entanglement! How lovely!

As the evening progressed, we performed "Seek Me" and "Trust in Me," from Sweetbird's "Shine." The Lord was blasting through us. I sensed the power of His mighty presence. I sensed love and joy - Spiritual fruit.

As we continued to perform, a few more people showed up. As I gazed into the audience, it was obvious that they were there to listen to the music. Suddenly, the cafe was alive! The Lord was moving in our hearts, and in the process, connecting with other hearts.

The music poured out of us. Christine and I played for 2 hours straight without a break, something we rarely do.

As we finished playing, I began packing up our gear. As I was putting my guitar away, I heard a voice. It was the Lord. He stopped me dead in my tracks. I closed my eyes and bowed my head to listen:

"BELIEVE IN ME."

Yes, Lord. I said silently.

"BELIEVE!!!"

Yes, Lord, I said again.

And then, in a flash, I received some light from above. A revelation occurred. At that moment, I knew something very important about the meaning of Sweetbird and His music:

Sweetbird's goal, as it were, isn't to attract the largest number of people. It's not about "the draw," to use the language of a typical music promoter. It's about connecting with hearts through His love - even if it is just one heart. One heart connecting with Christ is priceless and far more valuable than 100,000 people sitting in a stadium listening but not connecting.

You see, Sweetbird is all about Him, it is not about us. We are there only to serve Him and His purpose. The Lord is building His church and He is using Sweetbird to help build His church. That is the truth, pure and simple.

Following my revelation, there was peace - a sure sign that the Lord was moving in my surrendered heart. I gave thanks for the light and praised Him for His never failing love.

May His never-failing love connect with you and fill your heart.

Agape,

Steve

Nothing Without Love

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:2)

Have you ever felt like nothing? You are not alone. Hundreds of millions of people experience this sensation. It is natural to see yourself as nothing in the grand scheme of time and space in the universe.

What is the source of this feeling of nothingness, you ask? Quite simply, it's associated with a lack of love. Without love, as the Spirit said through Paul to the Corinthians, we are nothing.

Love is the key ingredient to Life. Without love, there is no Light and there is no Life.

How great is love? Well, look at all the things we could possess and still be nothing:

We can have the gift of prophecy. What a great gift that is!

We can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge. Many people are in strong pursuit of knowledge and solving mysteries. Indeed, this is largely the domain of science.

We can have great faith - enough to move mountains. Evangelists don't appear to be short on faith, from what I can tell.

There are some great things - mighty things indeed! We can have them all, but if we have not love in our hearts, we are nothing.

Nothing without love.

What is missing from the world today? What is missing from the churches, schools, companies?

In a word, love.

The truth is, from God's perspective, there is a lot of nothing going on in the world today. To be sure, people are doing lots of things. There's plenty of activity in the world. But it lacks love. And without love, it is nothing.

When love is present, God is there.

God is love.
(1 John 4:8)

When love is present, there is Light. When love is present, there is Life. Take away love, and you have nothing.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

May you have love in your heart, always...

Agape,

Steve