Because some who visit this site may be familiar with my early teachings or writings, I feel obliged to post the following document that I originally wrote in 2018, and which I have just now (February 2023) somewhat enlarged and updated. Solomon says, “The path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.” In my case, nearly ten years ago, the me...

[A Response to a question about the “proper balance” between self-love and self-denial]  To try to answer this question, it’s important to understand that in the beginning, man’s will and desire were like a branch or reflection of the Lord’s will and desire, and he could truly love things and desire things for the same reason that God loves and desires things&mda...

It’s important to understand the reason why the Lord begins to manifest Himself to us in our darkness. He doesn’t appear to us in our fallen, rebellious, dead, contrary, blind, carnal, enslaved condition (which is called Egypt, spiritually speaking) merely to comfort or console us. He appears in our dark land of Egypt to show us what we are, where we are, how contrary we are to Him, an...

[A response to a question]  I received your text message, and I figured it would be easier to respond to your question in an email, with some verses attached. You asked, “Do I think that it is wrong to be afraid of evil, or to be afraid of going astray?” To answer that question, I think it is first important to make the following distinction.In one sense, I don't think that, a...

You say that “God doesn't expect us to be perfect, because we are no longer under law but under grace.” But such a statement makes me concerned for you, that you neither understand what grace is, what it does, nor why it has been given to man. Most Christians are in agreement about the fact that grace is a free gift of God, but after affirming this truth, they then diverge into a w...

In one very simplistic sense, I think you can divide believers into two basic groups or camps, the one being much larger than the other. The first, and by far the most common group, is comprised of those who, every day, live their own life, according to their own will, and yet find that God or religion are in several ways important or advantageous to their own purposes. I mean, their life consists...

[A response to a question] Before talking about spiritual light, and what it means to walk in it, let’s start with this question: What is natural light? Light is that which makes things manifest, or in the words of Paul, “Whatever makes manifest is light.” (Eph. 5:13). This is true both spiritually and naturally. Natural light shows a person what is real, or what is p...

[A response to an email] Many Christians talk about new birth as though it were the goal, but it is really just the beginning of new life in the Spirit, just as the birth of a baby is only the beginning of the life of a man. When a person begins to experience the life of God moving, stirring, convicting, awakening, touching, teaching, etc. his soul, he usually rejoices in the sight and sense of t...

He does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.—John 8:44Every untruth is a lie, but it has often appeared to me that there is one lie that is bigger than all the others, or that perhaps should be considered the root and foundation of the rest. In the beginning, when the hearts an...

[A response to an email] Well, again, to answer your question in a meaningful way I need to speak pretty frankly. My heart’s desire (as far as I know myself!) is truly to help you, and not to give any offense, so I hope you can hear my heart. Many Christians (and perhaps more particularly those who are accustomed to STUDYING the Bible) have a Christianity that is primarily words. They...

[A response to an email]  Question: “Are you saying that self-discipline is needed for eternal life?”Response: No, that’s definitely not how I would state it. Using that language leaves a lot of doors wide open for wrong conclusions and misunderstandings—as though eternal life could be purchased, acquired or produced by self-discipline. That is certainly not true....

[A response to an email]I think there is an important distinction to be made between the conscience itself, and the light of Christ that shines IN the conscience. I understand the conscience to be a faculty or function of the created soul, given to us to discern (even apart from outward information and education) between right and wrong, good and evil, clean and unclean, etc. The conscience is a v...

[A response to an email]  I’ve thought a lot about your email, especially where you said, “I’m just feeling like a lost, misguided deceived sheep. And if what you’re saying is true, there’s a ton of us out here.” I think what I wrote to you IS true (otherwise I wouldn’t have written it); and sadly, I believe you’re right, there ARE a whole lot o...

[A response to an email]  And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not cha...

[A response to an email] With regard to your questions about the doctrine of “total depravity,” perhaps the reason that this subject is confusing to you, and to many others, is that there is some truth in it, mixed with some very wrong conclusions or deductions. It is true that in man’s fallen condition he is in a completely depraved and powerless state. Of himself, and by himse...

[A response to an email]  Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.—James 1:21You asked about James 1:21, which is a verse that I believe encapsulates the entire nature and effect of the gospel of Christ. Because while it is most certainly true that Christ lived, died and rose outwardly...

[A response to an email]  You asked me how you can pray, fast, and read the Bible in a way that will “affect your relationship with God.” But I think it will be helpful to first discuss a more fundamental question: WHAT IS your relationship with God? In other words, what is the WAY that God relates to you? How does He view or understand the relationship? And what is His purpose fo...

I understand your confusion, and your panic. I really do. I don't know how much to say, but a few things come to mind right now. First, the “great and terrible day of the Lord” is not really a period of time (though it dawns and then lasts for all time). It is a great light, a living truth, in which the following Scripture is fulfilled in our own experience, “For there is not...

Justification and condemnation are frequently misunderstood. The word justification has to do with God acknowledging or manifesting that something (whether it be a person, a condition, an action, etc.) is His own workmanship, that it is of Him and from Him, and so is one with Him in nature and purpose. It’s like He looks at it and says, “That’s Me. That’s mine. I did it. I...

When I first experienced the Lord’s powerful hand moving in my heart, lifting me out of great trouble and confusion, and turning my heart to Him, I was so convinced of His existence, and so deeply appreciative of His love, that I dedicated myself to serve Him with uncompromising zeal and discipline. For the next seven years I did everything I could think of to know Him and please Him. I pray...

[A response to an email] You asked me to share a little about how to live in a low, humble, submitted place where the Lord's power becomes increasingly real and effective. It might be good to start by saying a few words about how people naturally live and walk in their fallen condition. The soul of man is like a hungry fire, which, left to itself, feels nothing but a painful vacuum, a bi...

[A response to an email] The reason (I believe) why so many Christians confess that they cannot change themselves, and also confess that only God can do it, and yet rarely ever change, is because they simply do not love and submit to the Light of Christ in its first and smallest manifestations. I didn't understand this (not distinctly or accurately) when I wrote my books several years ago. An...