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And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. Matthew 10:38

At the time Jesus said this there were no religious connotations regarding the cross. It was, plain and simple, an instrument of death for convicted criminals. The condemned was rejected and cut off from his people. The cross was not thought of as a burden one must carry (an absurd notion), nor was it even remotely considered as something someone would do every day. It took religious institutions to pass that hoax off.

Friends, where do you get the idea that this miraculous faith we have in Jesus Christ coincides with your personal biases? I find it amazing how quickly a person's worth is evaluated among you by the car they drive or that little label on their clothes. This is the attitude of a corrupt judge who is bought by those whose payoff is the highest.

So, what is the Shovelation?

First off, understand that I am not trying to pass the Shovelation off as a translation. Oh, I know a smattering of Greek, but I don't possess the Biblical language skills to even begin such a project as to create a new translation. But then with the number of English translations available today do we really need one more? Aside from a few discrepancies (some important, some not) and/or easier readability, most versions confirm that another translation will end up saying pretty much the same thing.

Trash your preconceived notions based upon self-endorsing claims. Don't you see that just because a person may TALK about faith in God it doesn't necessarily mean that he/she believes in God? When the smoke clears it becomes obvious that faith is not made of the words that speak of it, but of the reality that is spoken of. Those who have that gut-level faith that Jesus is the one and only promised deliverer who came in the flesh are born of God. And whoever actually loves the Father loves the offspring of the Father.

Why do you think it should be so difficult to recognize the deception of those who are claiming to speak for God? Listen past their words into the reality of what they preach. They breed fear and insecurity with their words. But we have a FATHER who assures us by calling us CHILDREN OF GOD, and that is what we are. It makes no difference that the world can't see it, they didn't accept Jesus as being born of God, either. For who we really are cannot be evaluated by any of our senses, nor do we have any idea what that life will look like when the outer shell is finally peeled off. We do know this much, though: when HE appears, WE will be exactly like Him because we will see Him exactly as HE is. There is no other possibility, since He is light and there is no darkness in Him.

In the beginning God spoke. Remember, He SAID "Let there be light" and there was light. Each time He spoke something, the thing said created whatever was said. It was the raw power of God. We saw that power, that WORD, with our own eyes. We heard it with our own ears. We touched it with our own hands. We were captivated by it. The one we followed was the word spoken by God. He was the Eternal Life that was with the Father. He became flesh and stood right in front of us - and this word is what we proclaimed.

You who are rich in this world, but have nothing in God, pay attention to what I say. I will be your "Ghost of Christmas Future", for it is bleak. Feel the heaviness as you buckle under with uncontrollable sobbing. For behold, your riches have disintegrated and your "toys" are all broken. Everything you have valued has been devalued -- the memory of your loss will haunt you forever. Are you unaware of the significance of this time in which you store up your temporary riches?

My friends, in view of illusions so easily created by words, I recommend that you seriously consider your desire to become teachers. Don't you realize the intense scrutiny it puts you under? For we all mess up in many ways, but in order not to mess up in what you say you would have to be perfect, able to control every other part of the body. That's the way it is with bridling a horse; the bit goes in the mouth and you can turn the whole thing.

Martin Luther called the letter of James "an epistle of straw". I think that means he didn't like it. He understood that salvation was by grace through faith and viewed James as promoting works for salvation. Though many have learned how to handle some of its so-called problem passages, especially "faith without works is dead", James still haunts most salvation-by-grace people as being ammunition for legalism.

So, why did Christ set us free? We were set free for FREEDOM! So stand firm in it, and don't give into anyone who wants to take it away from you! I tell you this because those who are in bondage can't stand the idea that you may have escaped; and they will do anything to pull you back into prison with them.

Have you guys gone wacko or something? Did you forget everything I told you about Jesus? Don't you remember how it used to be so OBVIOUS to all of you that Christianity is a miracle? Did you forget that your former mindset was exposed as death? Don't you remember that HIS death on the cross was the end of everything you USED TO BE? Can you tell me just ONE thing? This new life ... the Spirit of Christ, Himself living in you ... did it come from something you did? Or was it a miracle that came about through faith? Have you gone insane?

When I wrote this letter to the believers who lived in the Galatian region I was mad! The last time I had seen them they were living in freedom and it showed in everything they thought and did and said. But it didn't appear that way to a certain group of people who thought they knew what it was to do the will of God.