CONFESSION
I write this at a time when God is dealing with me personally and intensely. I sense that He is in the process of preparing us to stand strong in troubled times, maybe soon, and part of that is to shorten the rope that allows us to wander from Him, the Center Pivot of all creation.
I see Him do that as He calls me to come closer, meaning that I need to forsake the trivialities that capture my time and attention and take my eyes off of Him. Not bad stuff, but inconsequential when compared to eternity. And “cheap” when compared to the Abundant Life of His kingdom that is entered through the narrow gate at the end of the narrow path.
If we invite Him to, and I do, the Father will shine His light on the aspects of our life that handicap us. For example, He has called me to fast regularly, a Biblical practice that is known to benefit us in body, soul and spirit, but I can’t.
Better said, I have refused to. Exercising my free will to eat instead of fasting has handicapped me, and that’s exactly what it is. It is more a matter of the heart than of the stomach and it displays my stubborn insistence that I can decide for myself. I can choose to try to be my own god – and THAT is the root of all sin from the first bite of the “apple” until today.
And so, I’m not “preaching at you” when I write here. I’m writing out of a “word” that God has given me for the Church and which He is calling me to surrender to more fully myself in the process. This is hard!
A JEALOUS GOD
That said – God is a jealous god, as He said in Exodus 34:14 “For you shall not bow to another god, for Yahweh—Jealous is his name—he is a jealous God.” ULT
The meaning of “jealous” there is – – – -.
Continued
Ken Stoltzfus
Kidron, Ohio USA
April 23, 2026
Printable pdf at: www.10minas.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/26-15.pdf