Christine,

Your little lost lamb story brought tears to my eyes. It's a REALLY GOOD idea. With a little touch-up work it could be published as a children's story, and with some information about how a person can meet the Good Shepherd, it could be made into a flyer or handout.

Nico,

If you can locate your true initiation paper, drop it in here, if it's not too complex, or email it to me. You must realize by now that I'm not exactly an intellectual. I've been reading the Bible, and lately DA, and these ideas pop up that amaze me.

I have to work hard to unscramble these and put them into a more or less logical order. Next to me is a basket half-filled with scraps of paper with my thoughts scribbled on them. During the day I get these ideas and have to write them down at the moment, otherwise they're gone forever. Later, I sort through the scraps to review them.

I'm hoping we can find a way to help other's find their way. I'm getting very uncomfortable doing nothing.

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I feel more comfortable "doing things" like giving the hurting a shoulder, giving the needy some clothing, giving the poor some food.

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I just got a fundraising newsletter from the Salvation Army. I'll probably send some money, but it seems so impersonal. Where can I find those who need clothes, food, shelter, etc and deal with them one-on-one? I could live under a bridge or in a cardboard box, sharing life with the homeless in a big city, but I don't believe my wife would appreciate that much.

First the basic needs of the underprivileged must be met, then they can listen to spiritual concepts. We would have to become involved in other's lives, and have something we strongly believe in, in order to share the thing we believe in with them.

Just the act of feeding, clothing, and sharing with others would tend to reinforce one's faith and enable them to better practice what they preach, because of the responsibility and accountability. Somehow, we have to become friends with those we want to help or have already helped. All talk and no action would tend to produce jaded, faithless church attendees. Big talk, little do, no faith.

There are others, like us, out there who have more food and things than they need, except they lack spiritual interest or awareness. Somehow they must be awakened from their sleep...perhaps when this country's democratic government is destroyed and mere survial becomes the only challenge.

Maybe for some, all it will take is the message of JTB and Jesus: Repent, for the Kingdom of the Stars is coming. Soon, we must all face our life's record, and either be accepted or rejected for membership according to what we have done in this life.

I checked out CUC and Andrews U for info on becoming a Chaplain via the Bachelor's Degree in Religion. The distance learning program administered by Griggs U, part of Home Study International, charges $200 per semester hour. That's about all I can say about that program.

What's your dream, Nico?

To Dream or Not to Dream.

None of us asked to be born, but here we are, thrown into a world where chaos dominates. Without a dream, we're earthbound, marooned on a dying planet, trapped in our own diseased thinking.

If we can just dream big enough, we can see beyond the pollution we've created for ourselves to another world, our future world, where nothing of the evil we're familiar with will exist.

JTB had a dream that he would meet the Anointed One. Jesus had a dream that he would save from destruction all of the humans who did what he asked. The 144,000 will all have the same dream, a dream that will empower them to remain free of evil, enduring chaos and destruction and fear and temptation to doubt their dream, until the spectacular return of Jesus.

We all need to have a dream, a dream of what we could become if we made everything right with God and asked him to clear our life records of past evil thoughts and actions. That would give us power to move on into a new way of thinking, to have a dream of hope, with the past forgiven and forgotten. That's what John's baptism symbolized, I just now realized.

Maybe what we should be doing is sharing our friendship, sharing a dream of hope, not spewing doctrine, not "Since my life is better than yours, do what I do, think what I think" Pharisee preaching. Thank you, Nico, for the great idea. I've been trying to figure out what I'm supposed to think, say, and do. I hope I don't sound too much like a preacher.

Both JTB and Jesus were telepaths. Perhaps they had to find solitude to escape the selfish, misguided, depressing thoughts of those around them.

I think originally humans were telepaths, but lost the ability. Today it's more or less 1-sided: we call it prayer. The Spirit of God in our minds reveals our thoughts to Him. The Spirit can also input thoughts into our brains, usually unbeknownst to us, though.

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Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? O you of little faith! If you remain in me and my words remain in you, you shall ask for whatever you want, and it shall be done for you. All things, whatever you ask for in prayer, believing, you shall receive. If you have faith, nothing shall be impossible to you.

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And when you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues (churches) and on the street corners (television) so they may be seen by men. When you pray, go to your room, and when you have shut the door, pray to your Father in secret. For your Father knows what things you need before you ask him.

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Solitude can be used for meditation, prayer, and a time-out from the cares of this life. We should be careful not to doubt. If we doubt the words of Jesus, we're at risk of losing our place in the Restored Kingdom of the New Earth. Nothing on this crummy, trash-can-of-a world is worth missing that, the ultimate trip.

If we dream big and think big, perhaps it will save us from the pit, yawning open behind us, waiting for us to slide back in. It's a little slippery along the edges, too. If I can just get far enough away, everything will be OK...

Thank you for sharing your dream of evangelism, Nico. I must apologize to you. Sometimes I blurt out my thoughts, then later realize they could be taken personally. You're never a target in my scatter-shot attempts at defining my beliefs and thoughts.

Even some atheists can be closer to God and kinder to their fellowmen than church-goers. It would be cause for a great celebration if they can be a part of the Restored Kingdom of New Earth. God knows who's safe to allow into the Kingdom. Left to humans, there would be many grave mistakes.

Fluffy was a happy young lamb, and she always liked to go out with the shepherd and the rest of the sheep to find the best grass in the green hills above her fold. She had a fiercely independent spirit and would often run ahead, then hide, until the shepherd and the rest of the sheep slowly caught up. Late in the afternoon, the shepherd would call the sheep together to begin the return journey back to the sheep fold. When she heard the shepherd’s voice, she would jump out of her hiding place and join the rest of the sheep.


One fateful day, Fluffy ran so far ahead to hide that she no longer recognized where she was. That didn’t bother her, because she knew that when she heard the shepherd’s voice, she could find her way back. The sun was getting quite low in the sky when she realized she hadn’t heard the shepherd calling.


She wasn’t concerned, though, because this outing was turning into a grand adventure. She found a little stream and followed it until she found a nice place to spend the night. Underneath a bush near the stream was some tall, soft grass. She rolled around until she was comfortable, then sighed. She was free at last. No more rules. No more bosses. No more crowded sheep fold. Fluffy decided to stay here forever and never go back home. She never wondered about the dangers of living in the hills, alone.


Fluffy liked her new life of solitude. The next day, upstream, she found a little cave, just her size. “This is where I will spend the rainy season,” she thought. Over the years, Fluffy, the Solitary Lamb, grew into Fluffy, the Solitary Sheep. She never heard the shepherd calling out her name every day. She couldn’t. There was no one to shear her every year. Her wooly coat had grown so thick and matted, that it covered her ears and blocked her vision. Fluffy was a ridiculous, big fur ball, waddling around the countryside, not realizing she should have been shorn, years ago.


One afternoon, she found a trail that looked strangely familiar, when suddenly, a thunderstorm appeared out of nowhere. “I have to get back to my cave, and soon,” she thought. But it was too late. The trail was now too slippery for the fat Fluffy to climb. “I’m in big trouble,” she thought. She started waddling downhill, following the trail, hoping to find some shelter ahead.


The farther she waddled, the heavier it rained, and the more slippery the trail became. Her wool was like a big sponge, soaking up all the rain falling on her. It was getting dark, and now she could hardly see. Several times she slipped and landed with a squish. Each time she fell, she got up a little more slowly. Fluffy was getting weaker and colder. She started shivering as a biting wind blew her down, again and again.


“I’m in serious trouble,” she whimpered in the darkness. “Please, oh Please, she bleated for the first time in her life. “I can’t go any farther. Please come to me, shepherd, and save me,” she cried. Finally, she slipped and fell for the last time. Unable to get back up, she lay there, a soaking wet, muddy pile of wool, waiting to die.


Suddenly, through the mist, a ghostly light appeared. “I’m dead,” Fluffy thought, “and the spirits are coming for me.” Then she heard a familiar voice, one like no other. The voice was calling her name. It was the voice of her shepherd, who heard her cries for help. He was carrying a lantern. Fluffy was only a few hundred feet from the sheep fold. Fluffy had come home.


The shepherd easily picked up the waterlogged, muddy sheep and carried her into her old home. There, he built a large fire and put Fluffy nearby so her wool could dry. Now warm and comfortable, Fluffy dreamed she was a little lamb again in a beautiful place that was all green and golden. The shepherd was there, too. When he spoke to her, his voice sounded like beautiful music.


She awoke the next morning with a start. Standing over her was the shepherd, holding a pair of shears. “You’ll feel much better after this,” the shepherd said. Although she couldn’t see much because of the wool over her eyes, she shut them anyway and waited until the job was finished. Those big shears scared her.


“It’s over, Fluffy,” the shepherd finally said. When she opened her eyes, she was nearly blinded by the bright light coming from the sky. Carefully, she got up and took a few steps. Suddenly, she began to run and jump and bleat, just like a little lamb. After the joyous celebration of freedom from her wooly prison, she turned to thank the shepherd. She crept up to him, all the while looking down. “I’ve been a really bad sheep,” she thought.

Then she noticed the shepherd’s feet. She looked up into his kind face and asked, “How did you get those scars on your feet?” Unknown to her, the shepherd had often searched for her while he left the other sheep grazing safely together. Over the long years, the shepherd never stopped looking for Fluffy, until finally, one day, as she lay in peril, he heard her cry and saved her.

Yeah. That's it.