Prepare the Way of the Lord.

Wasn't that the prophet's cry.... Isaiah 40:3-5, Matt 3:3, Mark1:2-3, Luke 3:4-6

Prepare....

Preparation never happens unless there is an anticipation. It trancends hope. It is the action of Faith.

What is the "way" of the Lord now? The prophet speaks of making straight paths - bringing mountains down and elevating valleys. Where is this "way"? In the hearts of people. We are each our own "way" builder. But only the Holy Spirit can be the Master Engineer. We do not even know our own hearts because it is so deceiptive.

So how can we prepare a way when we are not even able to rightfully know where there is construction needed? By humbling ourselves under the hand of God by the Holy Spirit. When we open our lives and bow our knees, our minds, our hearts and surrender our rights to Him, who is our life, then we will have the priviledge to participate in this road construction.

This is by no means a small task. Each have to take his or her own life and open it to the Holy Spirit's search(Ps 139); seeking and searching and inspecting by the light of a candle; so that every mountain can be exposed, every crack filled and every valley elevated. Making a highway is never cheap. It comes at a price. How do we reckon on preparing a way for the Lord without cost?

We have for years cried out for a visitation, a habitation of the Lord among His people. Yet we have seen minimal results to all our fasting and praying. Could it be that we have send the invitations to a place that have no road to it? Could it be that the way are obstructed by landslides and eroded by the constant floods of circumstances. Maybe there are boulders of offense that effectively block the way, the light, the flow.

How willing are we to prepare the way? How willing, do we think, God is to manifest His presence among us? Maybe we've been asking the wrong question and knocking on the wrong door.

Isaiah 57:14-15, Isaiah 62: 10-12, Malachai 3:1-4

Salvation of the Soul - Marietjie Chase

Jesus' death burial and resurrection was for the redemption of the whole man. Yet, the full realization of it, the complete package, is seldom there instantly. Potentially it is there, just like a child has the potential to accomplish great and wonderful things. The oak tree is in the acorn.

At the moment of New Birth our human spirits that lay dormant - dead - since birth, (Rom 5:17, Eph2:1) because of Adam's sin, are quickened - made alive. We wake up from the inside. We experience life in a whole new way. The Holy Spirit's indwelling that brings light to our spirits give us new vision. We feel whole, ecstatic because for the first time we are complete: spirit, soul and body, as we were meant to be. (IThess 5:23, Heb4:12, Matt 8;13, Luke23:46)

So the spirit is quickened, regenerated and receives the indwelling Holy Spirit at the instant of New Birth. (John14:17,6:63; Rom 7:6, I Cor 5:5, 6:20, 7:34,15:45; II Cor 7:1; II Tim 1:14; IPet 3:18,4:6;...)

The unregenerate operate with only a soul and body. Only God through Jesus by the Holy Spirit can resurrect our spirit. This is the meaning of: "dead in their trespasses and sin". (I Cor 2, Rom 7:5, Matt 10:28, John 14:17, John 3:6)

The Bible teaches that our bodies full redemption is yet to come at the time when God will give us new bodies. This body, the temporal body, is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in our spirit, Which is in our body. (I Cor 3:16; Eph 2:22) We are the containers, the vehicles, the carriers of the Holy Spirit, yet still a body made from earth, bound, chained to earth.( Rom 8:1; II Cor 5:1-4; Rom 8:23; I Cor 15:44; II Cor 5:6-8; Heb 10:5; James 2:26)

The part of us that the New Testament refers to as " flesh" resides in our soul consisting of the mind, will and emotions. Just examine the works of the flesh in Galations 5. It all resides and are rooted and resources from the soul.

Our soul's salvation is the process of allowing the life in our spirit to permeate and infect our soul.  It is the process of letting the life of God that has entered our spirit have the whole of our being. We do this by a series of choices. Some calls this process sanctification: the process of making holy and set apart that which is not. (Rom6:22; I Thess 4:3) The soul, as mentioned before, is the will, mind and emotions. Of these the will is suppose to rule.

Renewing the mind (Rom 12:2; Eph 4:23) is a must for any believer. We have to allow the light and life of the Holy Spirit to reach every nook and cranny of our thinking. There is an acquiring of the mind of Christ. We have to think with God, His thoughts. Our minds cannot be contrary to His. In allowing Him to redeem our minds, we arrest every thought that exalts itself against and contrary to the knowledge of God and reject it. For example: there may be a thought process in a mind that says: "no-one loves me, I am useless and unimportant".  This is contrary to what God in His word declares about us. He says that we are His workmanship, created for good works. He said that He loved us while we were His enemies, that He chose us long before we were even born to be in Him and part of Him. So, we receive His word, believe His word and reject our own thoughts on this. The first letter of John, the Beloved, repeats over and over the phrase: "By this we know..."  We have to know, understand and experience the God that we serve. We have to be willing to change our thinking. We have to submit to Him in our thinking we have to humble ourselves and not be high - minded. A washing by the water of the Word needs to happen. Neglect of the Bible and a pride of mind will make this part of salvation of the soul a long and arduous process. This process is NOT our works. It does not require "sweat and tears". It is the work of God in us to change us into His image. Our only part is to co-operate and not resist. (IPet 1:13; James 1:8; Titus 2:6; Eph 2:3, 4:17; Phil 3:19; Col 2:18; Heb 8:10; I Cor 2:16)

The emotions, though not mentioned as a whole, but addressed as love, joy, wrath, anger, etc, needs to be changed by the redemption now indwelling our being as well. Our emotions have to be resurrected by the Holy Spirit. We have to have the love of God in us. Where love  were a pure chemical reaction to the endorphins flooding our brain, with purely selfish motives at the root of it, now our love has been made pure by the great love that He has for us. We love because He loves us.  We now have a giving, unselfish quality to our love. We find that our passions are changing into His passions. We now do not cry over losing our selfish desires but cry and weep over what breaks His heart.  Our joy, our anger, our longings are resurrected to the original intent, making us vibrant, living beings that respond to God and humanity in a sanctified way. Without emotions our entire human experience will be stale and robotic. Just ask Mr. Data.

Often the New Testament use the word " let" when addressing our emotions. "Let not your hearts be troubled... John 14;21. Let not... Eph 4:34. Let... Phil 2:3, Col 3:15. That speaks of control and release.    (Rom 6:13) We can let ourselves be angry and sin or we could direct that anger(passion) in a way that it can accomplish righteousness. Eph 4:26 We could either love the world or we could love God. ( I John 2:5, 4:7) Our emotions have to be flooded by the power of the life of God in our spirits. We have to let Him heal us in our emotions, so that our view of this life and of Him are no longer from the brokenness of our past experiences but as complete in Him. Restored to His image in our feelings.  (Col 3:8; Eph 4:31)  Redeemed does not mean cauterized. He made us in His image and that means we are emotional beings. In Him the emotions have a purpose. Just think of Mr. Data.

Our will, the master of our soul, has such a wonderful, clear message in the Book that it should not be difficult for us to understand. In Heb 1:2 it speaks of Jesus, who came to do the Father's bidding and it uses the phrase " I delight to do Your will". That describes more clearly than anything the status of a saved will. This process is a bit fuller described in Phil 2 where the full - kenosis- emptying of Jesus' divinity is described. Submitting His will to the Father was not a walk in the park for the man Jesus. Just look at His Getsemane experience. It's intensity and strain busted capillars in His face. Hebrews tells us that He learned obedience by the things that He suffered.(I Pet 1;9; Heb 10:39; II Thess 2:13; Phil 2:12; Rom 13:11)

The human will, more than any other part of us, have been in bondage to sin, satan and self. We were slaves to the demonic impulses, lies and deceptions. We have NOT the power of choice prior to being born again. The indwelling power of the Holy Spirit makes us free from the law of sin and death. It frees our will to choose whom we will serve. We now, after redemption, can "let" or "let not".  Because of the great salvation wrought by Jesus Christ, our will can now function as it was designed to function. We can now delight to do His will and do it. We do not have to submit to the impulses of our un-redeemed past. We can choose to respond to this human experience as the new creations we in fact are. The power of the Holy Spirit inside of us, gives us the ability to "will" to do His will. Revelations 12:11 says that they overcome him ( the enemy) by the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony and loving not their lives even unto death. ( Romans 6, IPet5:5-6, 4:19;2; James 4:6,7,10;15, 1:18; I Thess 5:18; ITim 1:1; Heb 13:21; Eph5:21; Col 1:9)

When Jesus was asked: "What shall we do that we may do the works of God?" His response was: "Believe..."   We began this journey with God in faith. We, individually, have to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that He is Lord of all, that He died in our place as final offering for all sin and that we receive His life inside of us, enabling us to have a personal relationship with God. It all starts by believing in our heart and then confessing with our mouths what we believe. We cannot even begin to imagine that we can "complete our salvation" by our own strength and power. We end as we begin: receive the end of our faith, the salvation of our soul. We keep the faith and in this we work out our salvation. We keep on believing that God is at work inside of us both to do and to will according to His good pleasure. We keep on, believing that we can only live by faith in Him and that we live and move and have our being in Him. As we stand in this conviction of the greatness of our God, we are being changed from one degree of glory into another, into His image. (  John 6:28-29, Romans 17, 1 John 4:15 and 5:5,  Acts 10:36, 1 Peter 1:9, Philippians 2:12-13, Acts 17:28, 2 Corinthians 3:18)

Yes, the salvation of the soul is an ongoing process, it is the permeating of the reality of the life of God deposited in our spirit, to encompass the whole being. It is the culmination of salvation when our entire existence glows with His glory divine.

Just Grace. by Marietjie Chase

Ephesians 4:7&11 to each one of us grace was given according to the (full) measure of Christ's gift...
He gave (granted) some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, some to be shepherds and teachers...
Gal 1:6, 1:15, Romans 1:5,12:16, I Cor 15:1, IICor 8:9, Eph 3:7&8, II Tim 1:9, Jms 4:6, IPet4:10-11,

These gifts are grace gifts: Charis is a favor done without expectation of return; absolute freeness of the lovingkindness of God to men, finding its only motive in the bounty and free heartedness of the Giver.
Charisma indicates the result of the grace.

If of grace - unmerited by the recipient- then it is not earned.Salvation is by grace. We do not see ourselves as having done something or somewhat to receive it. Why is it that when it comes to the gifts as it relates to the Body are we not also overcome with the grace? If by grace you are a healer, giver, apostle or prophet, why think that it is some part of your own doing?

The same grace that saves us is the same grace that gives us a part to play in this " business" of ministry. It is all God in Jesus Christ. The test of the genuineness of the gift is thus: humility. True humility knows that it is nothing of self but all that has been given to us by God.

If it is a gift, received whether we deserve it or not, where is arrogance and boasting then? In the flesh. This very thing, the flesh, is what makes us less effective in the Kingdom of God.

How can we preach grace laced with self? It would be heresy. How can we also serve a gift laced with self and the flesh? Would this not also be heresy?

The gift and the Giver, the man and the ministry, it is all by grace. If by grace then not by works and not by boasting.

By grace, Paul says, I am what I am. Not by works, not by lineage, not by any other process of selection; just Grace. And if it is Grace then it is just the Father's good [pleasure. Just because He wanted to.
It is great! It is all HIM!

After His Own Heart ( Lessons from David)

by Marietjie Chase

God does not need anything or anyone. He is self sufficient. Yet, David pleased God. What was it of David, that was pleasing to God? What makes a man or woman after God's own Heart?

David restored the ark of God - the presence of God - to it's rightful place. I Chron. 13:3
David's main concern was a dwelling place for the presence of God Ps 132:4-5 David valued the presence of God.

David did the right thing the wrong way. And had the heart to go and find the right way and try again. He was no quitter. There was no"giving-up" in the man.

He feared God. I Chron 13:12 Was sold out for God. Ps 16:8 and attacked a giant for blaspheming the name of his God. Ps6:2

David had a sane estimation of himself. He was humble. Real humility is to only care what God thinks. It is to NOT get your selfvalue from people. It is to be resigned to the will of God for your life. To trust God completely.Ps 19:12-13. When Absalom rebelled and David and his household had to flee, there was a man that followed at a distance cursing David and throwing dust about. One of David's men wanted to go kill this little dust bunny. But David said: Let him be. Maybe God told him to curse me. David left his defense to God.

David had an awesome respect for the anointing of God. Even when Saul hunted him like a dog, he refused to lay a hand on God's anointed. He honored Saul not for who he was but for WHAT he was: God's anointed. Even when you can't bear the "who" you have to respect the "what". David chose the life of a fugitive rather than dishonor God's anointing.

David had one best friend who died early. David's lonely heart found it's rest in God. The Psalms, most of it David's, so raw in emotion revealed a deep intimate friendship. People are not to be trusted with our soul. Only God earns this position. The self principle and the flesh makes it impossible to grant people this place. It is not possible to be a God pleaser and people pleaser at the same time.

David was also a painfully honest, passionate worshipper. He was a worshipper long before he was a warrior and king, and also long after.

He was not perfect. As a matter of fact very few of us can measure our transgressions to his level. Yet, he humbled himself and his heart never changed towards God. He did not participate in the blame game but took responsibility for his own actions.

What difference a heart like this makes.

Spill Over 

by Marietjie Chase



Paul said that we are reconcilers between God and man. I am a bridge. You are to be a bridge. We are all to be the one who bring the two together.

There is some problem in functioning in this purpose if we do not know God. Some years ago, after an extended fast, God spoke. He said: " My people do not know me."

This broke my heart and send me on a two year quest to read everything I could find about God and pursuing Him. One of the works I devoured was Jim Goll's "Wasted on Jesus" and maybe this title says it all.

If we are truly in pursuit of God, if our hearts truly follow hard after Him, we would seem to those on the outside as utter fools. He is more than anything this world can offer yet we are so often distracted and enthralled by this world's stuff.

There is still a gentle call. There is still a sweet invitation to "come away with ME". To those who can hear it, to those who can listen, there awaits unspeakable, incommunicable experiences.

There was a reason Jesus told the disciples to go and wait in Jerusalem. Wait and become so filled with God that you will spill over. How else can the world know Him? They have to be splashed with the overflow.

Sadly most that go by His name, do not know Him and have nothing inside of themselves. Jude poeticaly call these, sunken rocks, waterless clouds, wild waves of the sea, fruitless fall trees, wandering stars, twice dead.... How great the loss for them and their followers.

Simple devotion to a living King. Know God and be known by Him. That is really all that matter.

Enter In -
Symptoms that you haven't yet entered the Kingdom (Promised Land) by Marietjie Chase

1. You do not really know God on a personal level. You just kind of hope that He hears you and knows you. Salvation is an experience, yet you do not experience God.

2. You are still linked with your past. The past is still reaching into your future and in-prinsoning you. You still think, act and feel like a person in bondage.

3.You are a covenant breaker. You do not keep your word. You lie, cheat and deceive and feel no conviction. Or bend the truth and shave or slant it.

4. You are unwilling to sacrifice, do what it takes to fulfill your destiny in God. You are apathetic. Church is a thing added on. You do not really care if God may or may not have a plan for your life.

5. You still blame all your problems, difficulties and failures on someone or something else. You haven't taken responsibility yet.

6. Earthly things still means the world to you. You do not see the Kingdom of Heaven.

7. You use God as a fire escape. Your greatest time of prayer, Bible study and church co-incide with crisis and only then.

Another Gospel by Marietjie Chase

A study of Galatians will show a clear contrast between those who live by the law ( O.T principles) and those who live by faith. (N.T. principles).

In the Old Testament we often read the words: "and they shall know that I am Jehovah." It usually refers to some action whereby God reveals Himself to nations and people. In the New Testament God moves inside of us by His Holy Spirit.

The Old Testament is all about distant learning. Only Moses, Abraham and David and maybe a few of the prophets had an intimate, vibrant relationship with God. But after Jesus came we all have access to the Father through Jesus Christ. Now we all, each and everyone of us, can come boldly before the throne of grace. We are our own Moses. We do not need another human to be our "authority". We are to submit to one another as equals. Even husbands and wives must submit to one another. Eph 5:21.

The O.T. is an exclusive system where the N.T. is an inclusive system. The O.T. has an us-and-them attitude but the N.T. has an all-is-welcome attitude. According to Romans3 and Galatians3, all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. All means everyone. Those who are good and those who are bad. Those who kept the law and those who failed the law. All are guilty! Even if you are justified by the law .... even if you are very good and do all the do's and don't's... you are deprived of all the affect of Christ. Gal 5. The only way out of eternal damnation is faith in Christ Jesus; believe in your heart, confess with your mouth, be baptized as an outward declaration of an inward reality and become a disciple of Jesus Christ, being rooted and grounded in love, the word, prayer and worship with the saints to help us in our journey to maturity. This is the way for ALL!

The O.T law dictated and punished. In the N.T. we are adjured, encouraged, reminded and provoked to jealousy so that we would choose the best. We are warned, persuaded, called, begged and then also receive revelation and have God working in us to will and to do according to His good purposes. There is no big stick or punishment(consequences, yes). Our will has truly been set free. O.T. slavery, condemnation, -Ro 8- and fear. N.T. freedom. - Gal 5:13.

The law carries a curse. When we try to live by the law-Ro 2:16...-we carry the curse. The only way to live is by grace through faith. Faith brings the fulfillment of promises. None of it is deserved. It is not wages but a gift. Living by a law earns you wages, rights, status and entitlements.

There is no happy legalists. The first sign of slipping from grace into legalism is that we start to point the finger and judge others. There is way to determine if our own actions are guided by self or the Holy Spirit. Just ask what the motivation is. What do we want to get from this? Is there any self-interest in this action?

O.T. subject the flesh to control by law. N.T. walk in the Spirit and kill the flesh (self). Walk in love; walk in the Spirit and so we fulfill the purpose of God in our generation. Think! The mind is the seedbed. Think on Purpose. Ro 12 :1-3 If we are still in the fog as to our thinking and actions, whether it is in the flesh or in the Spirit, judge it by the fruit. (only judge your own thoughts and actions- the rest is not your responsibility) Gal 6:8, Gal5:19-23. Do good. Goodness is a natural outflow of walking in love and in the Spirit. It will NOT be work.


The O.T system of law were motivated by self-preservation and fear. When my motivation is self-preservation, self-saving, anything of self, then I am no longer living in love but in the flesh and law. Now my thinking is: If I... then He..... My entire motivation brings me in bondage. There is no freedom here since it is a constant trade-of. There is no service or pleasing one another for at the root, I am serving at the altar of self. Lucifer's sin was rooted in self. Adam and Eve's sin were rooted in self. Every sin has at the root self(flesh).

In a love relationship the motivation is not selfish. I want to please the one I love. My aim and goal is to know Him better so that I can serve - please Him better. My focus is totally not on me but on Him. Jesus came to redeem us from fear. Ro 8, Heb. I Jhn 4... There is no fear in love. God so loved that He gave.... Himself. Self-giving, self- sacrifice is the opposite of sin. Love is God and God is love... perfect love. It can be said then that there is no knowledge of perfect, true love outside of a relationship with God.

Note: Slavery http://instruct.uwo.ca/anthro/211/slavery.htm

Detours While Running a Race by Marietjie Chase

We worship God and pursue intimacy with Him and discover mysteries in Him. Our lives seem to work like it is oiled. ( and it is, by the Holy Spirit) We may feel like we are actually making some headway in our personal spiritual journey and fulfilling the destiny of God for our lives. But then WHAM! As of from no-where the peanut butter hits the fan. Or like we said in Africa: the paw-paw hits the fan. Meaning; a loved one passes away, we get sued, your car breaks down, your kids go berserk, your boss goes postal, your neighbour goes ballistic, your health fails, your marriage takes a nose dive, or your business drops it's bottom.... These things are designed to distracts and to detract and most of the time they do just that. We find ourselves in such a fix that our focus gets shifted. We ponder, worry and mull about the 'situation' and soon we are under the circumstances. Our joy is gone, our peace is gone and our righteousness is tittering on being dropped in the garbage disposal. Now we find ourselves in a dark place. Somewhere with little hope and no future, or so it seems.

Ever wonder why this happens? Why this detour comes? Why there suddenly appear a "road closed" sign on our journey in life?

It maybe that we were about to break through into something. It maybe that what we were doing, just before disaster struck, were going to destroy our enemy and populate heaven. Yes, I am saying that when these things happen it is an indicator that we are being effective. That we are doing something right and when this happens...and it sure as snow in New England will,...we should not take the detour. Ram that sign and go through it. Don't stop what you are doing. Deal with the problem as much as you can but then realize that all this is temporal. There is a better life. There is a goal, there is a reward laid up for us in heaven. Don't loose sight of the goal. There's a line in the book of Hebrews...now we do not see all things under His feet as yet... BUT WE SEE JESUS! (my paraphrase) He is the author and finisher of our faith. Keep your eyes on the price. And if you got sidetracked go back. Find what you where doing. Pick it up from there and go on.

Deal with the distractions of life as you would with the temptation to sin. We have a race to run and victories to won. We cannot afford to get involved in the tangles and to get lost in detour after detour. Let us run with endurance, determination and focus this race that is set before us.

Overcoming Evil by Marietjie Chase

During the past six or so weeks I've been delving into the study of evil. Not because I have some macabre sense of curiosity but because I'm in a battle that is so clandestine and slippery that I get confused at times. When I was still in Africa, I remember the times we met with demon possessed people and how we dealt with that. Back then I read everything I could find on the subject in order to prepare for it. I feel once again that we are facing demonics. Only this time it is a slippery battle.

One of the almost dozen books I went through is M. Scott Peck's People of The Lie. He said that 'live' spelled backwards is 'evil' and that everything that is against life is evil. All that stifle, inhibit and stamp out life is evil. Now this reminded me that Jesus said in John 10: " I have come that you may have life and have it more abundantly." And somewhere else the Bible says that " in Him was life, and the life was the light of men." Mr. Peck also said that truly evil people like to "keep up appearances". Like the mother in "A Child Called It" who perpetrated amazing horrors against her son, yet wanted to look like a righteous good person. For this reason they like to hide in church.

Traditional church with it's sterile service on Sunday morning and fellowship with the back of some one's head is perfect. It looks good. Giving tithe and offerings and wearing the right - fake-smile and clothing, completes the act. Now all they do it snuggle up to the pastor with thick layers of flattery and the occasional "special" donation to the pastor and we have evil in the very fiber of the church. No wonder Paul writes to the Galatians about being "bewitched".

Listen to me. Listen to me. This is why most people resist the relational style of church. You cannot hide in it. It is pure and genuine. Every religious spirit, every evil spirit will be found out.

When we return to our roots, when we once again become the church of Jesus Christ instead of the edifices of men and demons, when we again put the Holy Spirit in His rightfull place, we will see the evil run from us like in the book of Acts. It is time to turn our back on all that is not born of God and embrace only the genuine article.

Let the church arise! Let the true Church Arise!!

Preparing for the Eminent Hurricane !

I am convinced that if we do not put action to what we believe, that we are deceiving ourselves. I have been asking God lately, what I need to do to prepare for the Great Outpouring of His Holy Spirit that is eminent. And then I received this week's

Visionary Advancement Strategies Articles

Lee Grady was one of the speakers of a small Women In Ministry training I attended in the fall of 2005. He has some substance.

Please, read this article and consider what you have to DO to prepare for the Floodgates of Heaven. We asked for it, now let's get ready to receive.

Marietjie


Preparing For a Spiritual Hurricane

by Lee Grady www.themordecaiproject.org
The winds of revival are coming. But don’t be surprised if a visitation of God redefines the church as we know it.

In Florida where I live, June 1st is a red-letter day. It signals the onset of the six-month hurricane season. I used to ignore those annoying storms because they normally don’t affect central Florida. But in 2004 we endured not one, not two, but three hurricanes. Charley, Frances and Jeanne roared through Orlando over a period of six weeks, and I gained a much healthier respect for 80-mile-an-hour winds—especially when they snap off 12-foot sections of trees and hurl them at my house.
People from New Orleans share that respect, I am sure. When Hurricane Katrina shattered the City of Jazz in August 2005, the disaster triggered the most massive human migration in American history. About half the city’s residents have since moved away, almost half the area’s health care facilities are shut down and 70 schools remain closed.

“You can’t have Acts 2 without Acts 5. The exciting fire of Pentecost is also the fearful fire of holiness.”

One big storm redefined an entire city. The faint smell of garbage still lingers in the humid air, months and months after crews worked nonstop to haul away 22 million tons of abandoned cars, ruined refrigerators, tree limbs, roof shingles, moldy sheet rock, rancid food, mud-soaked clothes and toxic chemicals. If you drive by the old Faith Church facility near downtown today, you’ll learn that relief ministries use the damaged building to supply food to Katrina victims. The congregation, now much smaller because of displaced members, meets in a shopping mall several miles away.

Katrina redefined ministry for Faith Church and many other churches in New Orleans. Priorities have changed. Life will never be the same.

When I ponder Katrina’s sobering aftermath I can’t help but draw some unsettling spiritual implications for all of us. I am by no means a doomsday prophet, but I believe a strong storm is headed our way. It will redefine church as we know it.

When the Ted Haggard scandal made headlines last year I had a sense that this was only the first domino to fall. Many respected voices in the Christian community have warned us since then to prepare for an imminent spiritual wake-up call. They’ve challenged our leaders to deal with sin in their own lives and to get rid of the arrogance, greed and shallow carnality that characterize so much of American Christianity. They’ve told us that God is so serious about holiness that He will expose religious corruption.

When God visits us to bring His winds of revival, those winds will also destroy man-made religious structures. It’s time for all of us to find shelter. Here’s how I believe we must prepare:

1. Reinforce our foundations. I fear that some of us have veered from the basics of faith to follow the latest spiritual fads. We charismatics tend to chase after anything trendy. In some churches today people are delving into exotic teachings and coining new terms including “spiritual fathering,” “apostolic alignment,” “armor bearers” and “heave offerings.” Any new believer who wanders into our meetings will need a translator to understand this spooky vocabulary.

There’s a place for such things (and a biblical basis for some of them) yet it’s possible that the trendy can overshadow the important. If the devil cannot deceive us outright, he will tempt us to get out of balance so that we lose our primary passion for Jesus. Let’s keep the main thing the main thing.

2. Get rid of the junk. The smelly garbage in the church today is going to fly when the winds of God hit us broadside. We must remember that revival is not just about the impact of church growth and new converts; it is also about gut-wrenching repentance and judgment. You can’t have Acts 2 without Acts 5. The exciting fire of Pentecost is also the fearful fire of holiness.

An alarm has sounded. Those in ministry who have not heeded the warning have little time left. I am pleading with you: Get your house in order. Destroy your materialistic idols. Stop all sexual compromise. Stop defrauding people and misusing God’s money.

3. Hide in God. I love the new worship bands on the scene today, but recently I’ve been having some unusual times of intimacy with God while singing from an old Baptist hymnal I owned as a child. Today when I open that book and begin to sing the words to “Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross,” “Jesus Paid It All” or “’Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus,” I get choked up and can’t finish.

I can’t explain my reaction, but it’s not due to religious nostalgia. I suspect my heart is aching for something of substance in an age of cheap imitations. Those lyrics, although they are old-fashioned, are still charged with power because they anchor us to the bedrock of simple devotion to Christ. As this storm approaches, I plan to cling to what matters most.

Principled Living or Relational Living...You choose! by Marietjie Chase



You can either live by principle or by the moving and leading of the Holy Spirit. If you choose principle you will receive the reward of living by principle and also if you choose to live by the Spirit you will receive the fruit of that. He that lives by principle has to remember all the principles and has occasion for boasting, if he succeed to stay within these principles. It is a box. If you choose to live by the Spirit your focus will be on forming and entering into a deeper more intimate relationship.



Principle living engenders independence from the source much like parents try to instill principles into their children in the hope that it becomes a lifelong habit so that they may be safe and prosper. We would like for our kids to be able to stand on their own two feet and not be needy.



In order to walk in the Spirit the opposite is needed. The closer I am and the deeper my relationship with Him, the more I need Him. I seek more dependence upon the Holy Spirit and not independence. Romans 8 says those who are led by the Spirit are the sons (mature sons) of God. This may mean that those who still live by principle are immature in that area. Galatians teaches that the law, principles comes to train us for something better. We cannot be truly free until we have come to maturity in every area of our lives. We shall know(gain knowledge of; similar to learning) the truth and the truth shall set us free. John 8:32. Ephesians 4: 13-16 speaks of the whole Body growing up into a new man; the Dwelling place of God.



Is principles important then..? By all means! Paul says in the book of Romans: I would not have known sin, other than the law pointing it out to me. We will not know and understand God if we do not study and submit to being taught. Yet, if we stay at this, we will be only a little bit better of than any other dead religion since the life, the eternal life is in the relationship.



Jesus did not abolish the law by annulling it, but by fulfilling it. The law and principles are still there and those who would like to live by it can do that but, Paul says, then Christ and His righteousness becomes superfluous. Living by principles affords one his own righteousness out of his own right doing and therefore the " right" to condescend and judge those who has lesser measure of success.



Principles do not need a heart full of faith and love. Cold hard facts is all the lawyer needs. The father embraces the son who acted like a fool and squandered half a livelihood. Principles, law says: that's not fair. If you cannot live in love, faith and grace, living by principles is better than nothing. It is better to obey from a motive of principle than to disobey. But the best motive is love.



Tithing, first fruits, offerings and taking care of the poor are all Old Testament principles. In the New Testament living by love, grace and faith says that as Jesus gave His all, so I give my all. So out of love, grace and faith, I pour out of what I am entrusted with, am a steward off, as He wills. My life is now full of faith that includes risk. The only sure thing is God.



Most modern day believers runs back and forth between living by principle and living by the Spirit. From the view of a principled person - living by the Spirit is to risky and open to danger. From the view of a Spirit- led person - principled living is dry, cold and stuck in a rut.



What does God want?

By the Spirit, put to death your members that is bound to the earthly principles of touch not, taste not etc. Romans 6. Galatians: God wants us to grow up in all things into Him, so that our lives would be hidden with Christ in God and the life that we now live in the flesh, in the dust, would be lived by faith in Him. Col 1:28, Rom 8:14. The rebuke of Galatians three still stands: " Who has bewitched you, that beginning in the Spirit, you now try to complete it in the flesh...?



Principles is just another word for law or works. Faith or grace or Spirit means that I seek to know Him and the power of His resurrection, being conformed to His image - even unto death - as a partaker of His divine nature.

How do we Personally Prepare the Way for Revival?(Adapted from Andrew Murray)

“A revival of holiness is what we need. And how is it to be found? It will cost much in prayer. It will cost more than that - much sacrifice of self and of the world. It will need a surrender to Christ Jesus to follow Him as closely as God is able to lead us. We must learn to look upon a life like Christ’s, having the very same mind that was in Him, as the supreme object of daily life.” Andrew Murray

· Become thoroughly dissatisfied with yourself - Be sensitive to God's conviction. “Press on toward the goal (Phil. 3:14)."

· Set yourself like flint toward a sweeping transformation of your life - Throw your whole soul into the desire for God.

· Prepare yourself in the way of blessing - Pray with all your heart, and ask God to enlarge your prayer and worship life. Make time for God, and practice fasting.

· Do a thorough job of repentance - Don’t tolerate sin in your own life. Let godly sorrow over your sin touch you deeply.

· Make restitution when possible - Make the crooked ways straight in your relationships and life.

· Practice living the Sermon on the Mount - This is the description of holy living.

· Be serious about personal revival - Pray instead of watching TV, and don’t get caught up in the ways of the world. Lay aside the crooked roads.

· Deliberately narrow your interests - If you narrow your interests, God will enlarge your heart. “Jesus only” is the way into a world that is infinitely wider and richer than anything else.

· Begin to witness - Make a new commitment to reach out to the lost. Ask God for opportunities, and He will help you.

· Have faith in God - Begin to expect God to move. All heaven is on your side.

Revival begins with us. It is each one of us getting our lives straight and turning from the crooked paths. Take seriously the need for personal revival. Take seriously the need for prayer. God is dealing with His church. The following is the testimony of Charles Finney during a revival in a small village in New York.

"I should say a few word regarding the spirit of prayer which prevailed at Rome during this time. Indeed the whole town was full of prayer. Go where you would, you heard the voice of prayer. If you were walking down the street, and if two or three Christians happened to be there, they were praying. Whenever they met, they prayed. Whenever there was a sinner unconverted, especially if he showed any opposition, you would find some two or three brethren or sisters agreeing to make him a special subject of prayer. No one could come into the village without feeling awestricken with the impression that God was there in a peculiar and wonderful way."

Divine Intention by Marietjie Chase

What was the Divine Intention with the creation of mankind? To have fellowship, to be one, to have open relationship. This is the mystery: God's desire to have mankind be part of Him. This now, finally, is the purpose of the church. Eph.3:12 Jesus Christ our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access in confidence through His faith. This is not even our faith but His faith. He is the One believing in and through us.

The mystery that Paul keeps writing about in Col1:27 - Christ in you the hope of glory. Eph.3:3-4 etc. Mysteries has to be revealed. It cannot be known by mental study. Braininess does not help in a mystery. Eph.3:6 The gospel(the good news)is that all , all nations, all people, has now become partakers - sharers, joint-heirs and part of the receiving end - of all the promises in Christ Jesus. In this mystery revealed, Jesus Christ opens the Godhead to include all that dare to believe in Him.

The prayer Paul prays for the Ephesian Church is that they may be filled with all the fullness of God. In order for this to happen we have to, by the power(dunamis - Divine enablement) of His Spirit become mighty and filled with strength in the inside. So that through faith we can be a habitation; a place where He can settle and be at home. And if God can empower us with strength to grasp ( kata lambano - to lay hold of so as to make one's own) together with all the saints - no room for exclusion - what the dimensions of this indwelling Christ is. On top of all that; that we may know( experience and in full knowledge) the love, agape, of Christ which surpasses(transcends, more excellent, superior) knowledge(general, intelligent, understanding). This fullness of God, according to Col1:19, is embodied in Jesus Christ (not historically, after the flesh, but now).

If all this seems an impossibility listen to verse 20: Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we ask or think.... God is able to accomplish all this according to His power(dunamis- Divine enablement) that is working in us. Then He will be glorified in the church in Jesus Christ.

God's Love....

So many times God's logic is our illogical. Abraham sacrifice your only son , so that I can give you many sons. Death is the way to life and humility the way to victory. Submission is the way to authority and nothing the substance of something. In human terms - this makes no sense; but to Him who sees all and knows all and made all, it is common sense.

Think. God so love the whole world.... John 3:16. Romans says that while we were His enemies He showed His love to us in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Point. God loves sinners and saints the same and so must I. There is no room for separatism. I must embrace what He embrace and love what He loves...

God loves people. God loves humanity enough to offer His only begotten Son as ransom for all - eternity past and eternity future.

Number one deception of religion and religious hypocrisy is that God hate sinners and love saints. Number two deception is that some sins are worse than others and some even without forgiveness and then it gets really cloudy and convoluted.

God is not afraid of sin. He made provision for it's removal by grace through faith - And even grace and faith are His gifts. How about that?!?

Symptoms of Deception - Am I deceived?

by Marietjie Chase


Medical websites helps even the most ignorant of us, to discern what is going on in our bodies. I can find the symptoms and if most of them match my experience, I have some idea of what is going on in my body. The Bible says in Galatians 6:3 that a person who has an insane estimation of himself/herself is self-deceived. Deception is a way of thinking.

Here are some symptoms of deception:


1. If you think in terms of "us" and "them" you are in the flesh. Galatians 5 clearly states that those who have a party spirit or schisms attitude are in the flesh. If you think that you are walking in the Spirit and have this "apartheid" attitude.... you may just be deceived.


2. If you think that you and those who believe just like you are the only ones who have it right and that it's your mission to set every one else straight..... you may be deceived. Obadiah 3, Gal 6:3, Eph 5:21


3. If you find it easy to talk about(negative), malign, slander and accuse some member of the Body of Christ... If you have no problem with gossipping - Yes, we all know when you are doing it, it is "discussing the issues"...... you may be deceived. Jms 1 :26, Jms 3


4. If you think that hearing the teachings and knowing about it in a mental sort of way and yet have never put what you believe into action.., I f you think knowing is having it.... you may be deceived. Jms1:22, Heb 4, Heb 5:14, I John2:3-5


5. If you blindly accept every supernatural manifestation or thing as from God and do not try the spirits according to ! John 4:4, by their fruit or result it produces.... you may be deceived. 2 Cor 11:4 &14, Acts 16:16-19, 2Thess 2:10


6. If you think that serving God, preaching the gospel or "living by faith" is a way to get rich or a way to get you needs met without labor....you may be deceived. Mark 4:19, 1 Cor 4:12 2Thess 3:12 1 Thess 4:11,1 Peter 2:16


7. If your relationship and believe in God rests completely on what God did, or is doing..., When you do not seek Him as a person and being but relate solely on the basis of His actions; you are at the very least immature and at the most... you may be deceived. John 17:3, Phil 3:10-11, 1 John 2:3-6, Numbers 12:6-8


8. If there are no new births, if your relationship with Him does not fill you with what His heart is full off ( John 3:16, 1Tim 2:4), if you have no passion for the hurting, lost and dying, if as His body and His bride we do not make His business our business....you may be deceived. John 1:13, Luke 4:18, 1 John 3:8


We haven not touched on sin and making excuses for sin or discerning sin, since I believe that most honest and sincere believers can do this with the help of the Holy Spirit the word and submitting to the Body of Christ. Heb 3:13, 1John 1:8-9

This is also not a list to run around and tag or mark other people with. Some of what we see may just be immaturity. 2Tim 2:14 Matt 7:1-5, 1Cor 11:31-32

The purpose for this is for self examination or discernment. How is my thinking skewed? Am I deceived in my mind? The battle is in the field of the thinking for as a man thinks, so he is.

I hope this helps to lift the fog.


Other resources:

They Shall Expel Demon by Derek Prince ;

Toxic Faith by Stephen Arternburn.

The Way of Deception by Marietjie Chase





Our principle of our Elementary school gave the parents a speech at the beginning of the year. Part, was a recipe for making a child into a communist (the threat at the time; we could easily substitute terrorist). She said, all you had to do was to criticise the police, the pastor and the teacher in the child's hearing. There is also a recipe for deception and the three main ingredients are as follows:





1. First. Abolish, change, pervert or otherwise substitute the written word of God.


All scripture [is] given by inspiration of God, and [is] profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 2Tim 3: 16
This deals with the written word. The translations have flaws and we have to study to show ourselves approved, as good stewards, dividing the word correctly. When we replace the centrality of the written word or make our own version of it; we have just taken the first step on the road to deception. The Bible has the last say on matters. Some has even made their knowledge of the Bible an idol and have become carnal or unsaved theologians. And some in their fear of legalism has thrown the baby out with the bathwater. Keeping the Bible in it's rightful place will keep you from deception and ignorance of the written word will make you a much easier target for deception.





2. Second. Minimize, abandon or pervert prayer.


Prayer has so many facets: I Tim 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, [and] giving of thanks, be made for all men;
If we want to define it we could write books. The best definition of prayer, in general, can be found in I Samuel 2 when Hannah said that she has been pouring her heart out before God. Some have tried to change this by limiting prayer to only this or that. The human heart needs emptying and if we do not do it before God, we will do it before people. At least God can do something about it.





3. Third. Don't submit to the rest of the Body of Christ and separate yourself. This means that you think that only you and those agreeing with you are worthy of your time and energy.





I Peter 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all [of you] be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
Some, in arrogance, even goes so far as to label people as demonic for not being in agreement with them. If ever there was a tragedy in the church; it is our schisms, sectarianism, denominations and little fractions. We have little groups of "eyes" and "ears" sitting on little hills where they are doing no-body any good.
Stay in the fire. Don't shrink back. As iron sharpens iron so will we shape one another. This cannot and will not happen if we run. Our modern, prosperous, lifestyles became a curse in this area. Let us humble ourselves and submit to one another, preferring one another above ourselves.



Deception's root is in the garden of Eden, when Eve acted on the word of the snake instead of the word of God. Jesus said: My words are spirit and life. Who's words are we acting on?



For further study see: http://www.tscpulpitseries.org/english/1990s/ts911007.html
Also: Rick Renner's book - Merchandizing the Anointing.

It's All About Heart 
by Marietjie Chase

King David was about heart. God called him a man after My own heart. He was the best King Israel ever had, aside from Jehovah Himself. In David we see the great commandment fulfilled: Love God and Love your Neighbour like yourselves.

David made mistakes. As king he made mistakes, as husband and father he made mistakes.Yet, looking at the overall picture one can easily conclude that he had heart.

David loved God. As a matter of fact, he was so consumed with his love for God, that his own self; his own importance; faded into the background. It was when Goliath defied the God of Israel when David stepped into battle. He wrote: (Ps 57:7) My heart is steadfast, O God. God was obviously the love of his life. Even when running from His enemy; Saul; and presented with the opportunity to rid himself of this problem, he chose to honor God. David's heart relationship with God produced the fruit of humility without humility ever becoming the issue. He trusted Jehovah and left his life and the kingdom in His hands even to the end.

Secondly, David loved the people. Some of his failings as a father comes clearly out of a heart full of love. In his dealings with Absalom this heart cracks wide open as he weeps: O, Absalom! My son, My son, had it been me who died instead of you. O, that God would give us leaders in the kingdom, the church, the body of Christ with a heart like David's. Those who will mourn for the wayward and weep for those who turn against them.

Out of the heart flows the issues of life, a wise man once said. Through the ages people have only responded, once the heart was touched. No wonder Jesus lumped all the law into this: Love God and Love your Neighbour.

Matt22:36-40, Mark 12 : 29 - 34, Luke 10:26 & 27

The Chases at a Butterfly Consevatorium on 2/19/2007.

Discernment : not optional by Marietjie Chase

There was a time in the mid eighties in South Africa when thousands of people lost millions of rands in a scheme that involved rotting milk. The basic concept was that people bought a culture and recipe from a company, which then bought back the envelopes of dried product. (in essence just dried rotten milk) The story was that they were using the product in the manufacture of cosmetics. When it turned out that it was only an elaborate scam and the so-called product were stinking up warehouses some laughed and some wept.

We are warned by Jesus and almost every book in the New Testament that false teachers, lying spirits and false Jesus's exist. We all think we cannot be deceived and perhaps that is at the root of deception. Our pride and arrogance leads us into deception. "Be careful you that think that you stand..." Humble yourself. God won't do this for you.

Another root issue is ignorance. Immaturity is only cute in babies because of their innocence. Immature adults are disgusting. Ignorance is also not a mark of some super spirituality. Desire the unpolluted word of God like newborns desire milk, so that you can grow by it.

What is this thing that the study of the Bible is no longer being esteemed as necessary? Do we really think that all our subjective experiences can replace scripture? This smells like rotten milk to me.

Understanding or hearing something does not equal obedience. Just because we understand that we are to obey the speed limit does not mean that we are doing it. We can only mature spiritually by obedience. You will stay an eternal infant in the Body and Kingdom of Jesus Christ unless you study the Bible and obey it.

There are no shortcuts. There are no quick fixes. You cannot escape the disciplines of Christianity. If you do, you will end up with something other than the real thing.

The mature are those who have their spiritual senses exercised, trial and error, to discern both good and evil. Let's not make the mistake to embrace every soft woolly thing we encounter. We may be hugging a wolf.

Focus on the pursuit of God. Read and study the Bible. Pray. Listen to more mature believers and go and assemble with the church - not to 'set them straight' but to learn.

Don't be foolish beloved. We have a real enemy that really truly hates us. We cannot afford to be undiscerning.

Spiritual Childhood. by Marietjie Chase March 10, 2007

One of my high school Teachers, Mr Bothma, gave me some of life's best advice: Live every stage of your life to the fullest. If you don't, you will always revert back to it.

We have celebrated children as a gift from God, as can be attested by the fact that we have 5 children and helped to raise five more. One of the speeches my children would tell you their Mom gives a lot is: Enjoy being a child. It does not last. You will be an adult forever. Once you grow up there is no going back to being a child.

A while ago I had a dream of a man with greying hair surrounded by children. He was somehow causing the hair of the children to turn grey in streaks. In the dream I felt like this was just wrong and pled the blood of Jesus. As I did this, the man faded and disappeared and the grey streaks in the children's hair disappeared as well. This was only part of the dream and I wrote it down and moved on. While praying last night, the Spirit of the Lord started giving me insight into some stuff.

Children, spiritual children, are not living as children. Their childhood is robbed by some entity that causes them to grow old before their time. We have a plague of immaturity in the Body of Christ because of this. Since they never were aloud to be "just kids", they are constantly acting childish. (For those who do not know what I'm talking about: bickering, clique-ing, getting offended about nothing, ignorant arrogance, lack of commitment and responsibility....etc. )

What does it mean to be "just kids"? In the natural it means that there is a parent involved. I firmly believe in: Children left to themselves bring shame to their mother. Being a parent means to love, guide, provide, supervise, be responsible for, protect and discipline. And I'm sure the list goes on. It is a nurturing relationship. One where the parent understands that there is a responsibility before God to do right by the child. Sadly, most people do not even have a positive parenting experience in the natural, so how would they understand or care for a 'spiritual" parenting experience. Read Ezekiel 34, John 10, Heb 13:20, I Peter 2:25 and I Peter 5:1-5

Paul wrote that when I was a child I spake as a child, understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man I put away childish things. He also said that we should as new born babes, desire the milk of the word. One of the saddest things of our society is , children having children. That ought not to be so. Spiritual children ought to be in a relationship,(fellowship, oikos, konania, covenant) where they are aloud to be zealous without knowledge-with supervision, ask and receive help, being carried in prayer and fed a balanced diet. They are to learn the spiritual disciplines so that they may mature into true sons(generic) of God who knows how to rightly divide the word. They need to learn, in this environment of love and acceptance; to discern - since it comes by experience.

This explains why there are so many people running around in the Church at large, with "Ministries" yet without effect. There is a lot of "growing up" to be done. Our "worship" of individualism and prosperity in our society afford us the "right" to never grow up, like Peter Pan.

Incidentally: the second part of the dream was of a small airport, where there was a small airplane with no wings, taxy-ing around the other planes. When I pled the blood of Jesus this little wingless plane faded and disappeared.

While praying about this, the Lord guided me to pray that these little wingless planes would be rooted out and the seed destroyed. The direction for prayer about the man was that it, the entity, be exposed. As soon as the children see that it is gone, they will go on to be "just kids".

A Complete Redemption

Isaiah 53:5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

There is a fourfold suffering in this verse for a fourfold result. Jesus did not leave some of redemption undone. There is no longer any other sacrifice needed. He did it all. The redemption is complete.

1. Transgressions are acts of rebellion and apostasy. It is the willful deviation from the path of righteousness, pre-meditatively crossing the line. It is the times when knowing right we do wrong. He was profaned and defiled. He was violated, subjecting Himself to violence, for the redemption of those who live by violence. He was desecrated for the filth and defilement of the lowest of humankind. He bore the penalty. There is no sin; how violent, putrid or gross, that He did not pay for this.

2.But He was also crushed. He was humbled and humiliated, afflicted. oppressed and broken in pieces just as we humans are. I often wondered at the mockery of the soldiers... It was for our iniquities, our depravity, for the perverseness of our crookedness on the inside. It was for our sinful twistedness, our misery, our faults. He paid the price. He was crushed, mocked, humiliated so that we can say "no" to shame and guilt. Jesus took that shame and guilt so that you can be free.

3. He was punished, chastised and bound. Disciplined... and in it all, did not break out but obeyed even unto death. Jesus submitted Himself to the will of God and obeyed. His obedience bought our peace. So much more than absence of strife. It is well being, wholeness, friendship; to live in security, tranquility and welfare. It means to be successful and blessed.

4. He was beaten, bruised, black-and-blued and hurt with so many stripes - without number-, for our healing and wholeness. He endured the Roman 'cat' for our healing. Now this healing is not only a privilege, a gift but also a responsibility. He suffered so that we may be healed. What does it say of our value of this suffering if we refuse this healing.

It is clear that Jesus Christ paid the complete price for a complete salvation: body, soul and spirit. There is no part of the human experience that is not covered. We have a responsibility to walk in this complete redemption. Be the best you can be. Do the best you can do. Find the will of God and obey it.

Every question humanity has, has been answered in Jesus Christ.

This is my body and my blood...

I have been looking at the bread and the wine for a few weeks now. Daily there is some new insights.

The bread in I Cor 11 has also something to do with I Cor 10, Math 18 and Matt 5. I 've come to realize that the blood is our vertical relationship with God and all we are in Him and through Him and few has a problem with this.

The bread signifies our relationship with one another.

John 6. Jesus spoke of himself as bread from heaven that came down for us. He also said in John 12? that the grain of wheat have to fall in the ground and die... or be alone. Alone one grain of wheat means little. Together, crushed and made into a loaf of bread, we have significance. The sum of the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. We cannot be the Body or Temple of God all by our lonesome. We need to become part of the greater Body of Christ to be this.

The bread part of communion, the eucharist, is where we slip up. Reading through 1 Cor 11 we can see that it is the "one another" part of it that Paul was most concerned about. The new covenant is a huge part, but without the "Body" part we are being deceived.

I looked up the portions of Ephesians that dealt with our behavior as relating to one another. It was about 50% of that letter. There were also 5 very important "one another" 's in there.

We can no longer relate to God as hermits, islands and logs pulled out of the fire. It is time to recognise the importance of "one another"

For those who'd like to study this:

Concider, Gideon's loaf, threshing floors, bread and body.
and
covenants, blood, sacrifices, testament and new wine.