1988 was the first time I lost 100 pounds. I’d dieted before and lost as much as 40 pounds but this was the big one; the diet to end all diets. Reaching my ideal goal weight according to a medically accepted height to weight table, took 10 months on a pre-packaged meal plan with rigorous daily exercise. Naturally, when I reached my goal weight, friends and family were thrilled and wanted to celebrate my success with a festive meal. Here and there I slipped a bit, all the while reassuring myself I could balance out the pounds gained by cutting back “next week”. But next week never came.

A year later, I had regained all the weight and then some. Compliments ceased and my self-esteem nose-dived. When finally I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, I hoped it would be the solution to my obesity. Sadly, the pounds so easily gained with a slow metabolism, didn’t come off when I began taking Synthroid. At least I had more energy and my frequent bouts with lightheadedness subsided, caused by very low blood pressure and a slow heart rate. Still it saddens me that 5 or 6 doctors over as many years didn’t suspect thyroid problems in a chronically dizzy and exhausted fat man with the resting heart rate of a marathon runner.

There is a notion among many believers that we must all walk arm-in-arm, agreeing on all things together, while making our way to the kingdom. Church sign boards and Sunday morning bulletins often boast slogans such as “come, let us grow together” or “come let us worship together”. Proponents of line-dancing our way into the kingdom often cite a scripture in support of that notion:

Can two walk together unless they are agreed? (Amos 3:3 MKJV)

The way I’ve come to see it, two people walking together really only need to agree on which path to take, how fast to walk, when and how long to stop and rest. There is no need to agree with everything another person believes in order to walk together for a time. There can be agreement in simply taking time to marvel at the beauty of God’s creation while walking and talking together.

There’s a joke about an elderly woman who when her young doctor suggested she get hearing aids replied “thanks sonny, but I’ve heard enough”. How true is that today? Hearing enough, I mean? While I’m not yet deaf, I have a similar reaction to the cacophony of self-appointed prophets whose many contradictory dreams and visions have led to much confusion and division among believers. Why it’s enough to make me thankful for tinnitus and the need for peace and quiet to manage my condition.

Perhaps you’ve noticed the clamor of so-called prophetic warnings; young and old sharing dreams and visions within hours of having them. Never questioning whether they’re intended only as a personal teaching dream. That Jesus who taught by parable might continue teaching us through symbolic dreams and visions intended only for the person He gave it to? Nah! Dreams and visions are to be shouted from the rooftop for everyone to hear and apply, for the church and the whole world. Fledgling prophets and prophetic ministries springing up over night complete with web pages, Spew Tube channels and even donation portals to support their groaning (er, I mean growing) prophetic ministry! It’s a chaotic whirlwind of disparate dreams and visions out there. So what’s a believer to make of it all?

It was deeply unsettling when I first began to hear the Father’s call to come out of man’s religious system – a system I was deeply devoted to – a system I’d ministered within for many years as a performing songwriter. That same year I first heard Him call me, Warner Brothers released “The Matrix” which inspired a lot of discussion on a forum I frequented called “New Wineskins”. Thereafter members often talked about being “red-pilled” by the Holy Spirit concerning the churches they attended and how having their eyes opened, couldn’t remain and left to join Jesus “outside the camp” (Hebrews 13:13).

My own experience I likened to Jesus healing the blind man by rubbing mud in his eyes and instructing him to wash. Metaphorically, it’s like forcing someone to look at the filth of this world together with the word of God. Death and life – filth and truth – side by side – mixture – until finally comes the day we see the difference and cry out “Give me Jesus! Give me Truth!”

The topic today is deeply personal for me; one that many believers are forced to reckon with when their spouse abruptly leaves the marriage for someone else. Bearing no fault, the wronged spouse is still subjected to a kind of leper treatment by family and friends who pull back, take sides and judge harshly. If children are involved, the grandparents turn every family event into a kind of intervention to advocate for their interests. What little visitation time a court grants to the father must now be shared with grandparents. Most hurtful was missing my daughters who were daddy’s girls and wanted to live with me. But since we had been a single-income family and my ex-wife a stay-at-home mom, the court refused to upset the status-quo even if the decision meant placing the girls in a very unhealthy environment. Someone has to bear the brunt of punishment meted out in a divorce and that, was me.

Forced to endure Job-like devastation I ran to the Lord with my broken heart and crushed spirit. He made His presence known in the midst of the fire and has remained close ever since. Like Job, I can look back and see the hand of God who restored me completely, and then some. How great is He who makes all things work together for good of those who love Him and whom He calls for His purposes.

I’ve had enough.

Television lost its appeal years ago when I began to recognize the repetitive and predictable story lines. Canned laugh tracks, musical crescendos and commercial interruptions timed to stimulate viewer excitement, annoyed me even more. And the news programs so obviously crafted to influence my thoughts and monopolize my attention, grieve me deeply. What little news I take, is carefully curated from reliable internet sources. But the agendas of news web sites are no different than broadcast news.

Years ago I read this, which even today is an apt assessment:

Cable news is a cancer. It is not even news anymore. Whether it’s CNN … FOX, or MSNBC, there is almost no news. The programming is primarily designed to keep you angry and outraged and self-righteous. Cable news also manufactures an alternate reality that doesn’t exist out here in the real world — it’s a propaganda machine designed to influence opinion-makers and most especially lawmakers … Living in the cable news ecosystem completely skews your perspective away from reality and what actually matters — like jobs and security. From an article at Daily Wire ( https://www.dailywire.com/news/i-cut-cable-cord-america-whats-stopping-you-john-nolte ).

It seems like everyone is offended these days. Whether social media, talk shows, news programs or the print media, the self-appointed politically correct police are always on the lookout for someone to vilify over a slip of the tongue, or worse yet, a statement they disagree with.

So what does the Bible have to say about “offense”?

In John 6, Jesus is telling His followers a solemn truth:

“I am the living bread come down out of Heaven. If a man eats this bread, he shall live for ever. Moreover the bread which I will give is my flesh given for the life of the world.” (John 6:51 WNT)

How did the crowds react?

If ever you hear the Father’s call to come out of man’s institutional church to follow Christ alone, you’ll no doubt be accused of “forsaking the assembly of the brethren”. That’s found in Hebrews 10:25.

It reads: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the custom is with some; but encouraging one another … (Hebrews 10:25 Darby)

Ministers and church-goers assert that the Sunday morning worship service is the very “assembling” Paul wrote about. That’s preposterous of course, because when Paul wrote Hebrews, there was no such thing as a Sunday morning worship service. Rather, at the time believers assembled together in and by Christ and lived in community with one another.