If you're not picking up what I'm laying down... I can just shrug my shoulders and move on. I don't feel compelled, at all, to convince you that I'm right and you're wrong. Especially when you consider that I'm trying to learn and grow myself. I don't think I know everything. Well, actually, 1 John 2:20 says, "But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things." So we DO know it all, it's just a matter of understanding what we know. Accepting the truth. Because a lot of the other translations of this verse talk about "truth" instead of "all things." Which, to me, is the same thing. If you know the truth you know everything you need to know. If you know the truth you can ignore the lie. You don't have to struggle with it, or listen to it, or defeat it. You can simply ignore it. And here's the truth: "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand" (John 3:35). God is love and He loves you. That's the ultimate truth of the universe. If I could only tell people one thing about God, that would be it. God is love and He loves you. Everything else flows from there. Now, having said that, if you believe God hates you... I don't think there's a whole lot I can do to convince you otherwise. If you've experienced, in your mind, a harsh, angry, hateful God... the only way I can convert you is to show you something different. Trying to "chapter and verse" you isn't to work. Again, there are some people in my life who I can trade memory verses with and that can build us up. But for the most part, with Joe Blow on the street, someone being nice is more important (and more effective) than someone preaching at them. Especially when you consider that most "sermons" these days are simply sin hunts. Religious folk trying to get the sin out of the camp. What we need, especially these days, are some righteousness hunts! Not telling people what's wrong with them, but telling people what's RIGHT with them! It is the GOODNESS of God that leads man to repentance. It is the goodness of God--and the finished work of the cross--that allows man to reevaluate things. For a long, long time we've all heard what the world is screaming at us. At some point we ought to listen to that still, small voice that's deep inside that says, "I love you, I love you, I love you" with every beat of God's heart in our chests. I guess my point is--if God's too much of a gentleman to force His will upon us... I'm not going to try to force my will upon anybody either. If God can let people do what they're of a mind to do... so will I. If you don't want what I have to offer... that's ok. I can love you anyway. I can help you (as much as possible) anyway. Or I can shrug my shoulders and move on. Know when to say when. That's one of my mottos. And, listen, love IS maximum effort. Giving everything you have and everything you are. But once you've given something all you've got, it's either enough... or it's not. And either way, you've done what you can do. So don't worry about it. Do your best and forget the rest. Don't try to force people to be you. Let people be who they are... and love them anyway. Don't love them in spite of the differences. Love them BECAUSE of the differences! Celebrate people's uniqueness. Love people, and watch how that makes everything better!

We hear a lot about "winning souls" in the religious world. About making sure we save people. And it's usually in regards to saving people from an eternal, fiery afterlife, right? Saving peoples' souls from going to hell when they die. Well, in my theology none of that is anything. In my theology JESUS saves us from anything we could possibly need to be saved from. Not by works, but by grace ye are saved, right? So let's look at Proverbs 11:30, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life' and he that winneth souls is wise." Seems pretty simple, right? Pretty cut and dried? Well, in the New Living Translation we see it like this, "The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life; a wise person wins friends." I think friends are more important than trying to ensure someone else's afterlife. Jesus came that we might have LIFE and have LIFE more abundantly. Jesus said the greatest love a man can have is to lay his life down for his friends. Jesus didn't tell us to behave so that we could take the "cosmic elevator up instead of down" after we die. He told us to live right now. God made us kings and priests to rule and reign on the earth. To help people in this realm and this dimension. To experience what we have--right now--by giving away what we have--right now. I don't know how "religion" got so consumed with the afterlife. Absent from the body is present with the Lord. And I do want to say that being absent from the body can also be a present reality. When we walk by faith and not by sight. When we judge righteous judgment instead of judging by appearance. When we are led by the Spirit instead of our fleshly desires. Anytime you're operating in the Spirit you're present with the Lord. But lets be real--He lives inside us. We are always in His presence. Even when Adam and Eve tried to hide from the presence of God after eating from the tree of death (the tree of knowledge of good and evil), God knew where they were. He has sworn never to leave us nor forsake us. Wherever you go, there God is. He is an omnipresent God. He's everywhere. And, more importantly, He's inside you. Living in you even as you live in Him. My point it--it's not my job to "keep anybody out of hell." Especially since I don't believe in hell as a cosmic, eternal place of punishment. It's my job to give people what I've got. To win FRIENDS. To destroy my enemies by making them my friends. And that, to me, would be more important anyway. To build those relationships and those connections here and now when we can experience and enjoy them. In all honesty, I don't have that many really good friends. But I'm friendly with just about everybody. I want to leave things--and people--better than how I find tham. I want to show as much love to as much people as I can. Let what's inside come out by knowing and believing that it's in there. By filling myself to overflowing with what I've already been filled with. That's how I experience and enjoy the gift I've been given. That's how I manifest my EPIC (Eternal Purpose In Christ) destiny. That's how this abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life is lived!

The title of this Rant series refers to the fact that I don't have any interest in converting people to my way of believing. That's not my job. That's not my calling. That's not something I have any interest in. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion, these things are so important. Especially in this day and age. So you can say what you want. You can believe what you want. And I'm ok with it. If I don't like what you're saying... my choice is to stop listening. If you don't believe the same thing I do... no problem. We don't have to argue about it, because I'm not trying to convince you that I'm right and you're wrong. In fact, I WON'T argue about it. I'm not trying to change your mind. If you believe what you believe and you're happy with it... more power to you. In fact, the only times I really put what I believe out there is in these Rants and the podcast and things of that nature. If people don't ask me... I'm ok with not telling them. Which is not to say that I don't SHOW people what I believe. I show people my faith through my works. Through the love that I share. And that's a big difference. Show, don't tell, right? I've said this many times before--some of the best conversations I've ever had about "God" never even came close to talking about religion. Because talking about life, about love, IS talking about God. You don't have to shove Jesus down people's throats. And in fact, when you try to do that all they end up doing is choking on Him. Throwing Him up. Running FROM God instead of TO God. Because a lot of the time we misrepresent Him. We try to scare people straight with that threat of "eternal hellfire." Get right or get left. Shape up or ship out. All of that nonsense. When in reality, God is love. The only way to represent Him... is by loving people. When you love someone, you're showing them God. And, by the way, it is the GOODNESS of God that leads men to repentance. Repentace, of course, being to reconsider in light of new information. We repent when we begin to understand the power of the cross and what the finished work of Christ really means. We stop trying to do things the way we've always done them and we start operating from a place of rest. We stop running around like chickens with their heads cut off and we begin to be still and know that HE is God. Life can get really simple when you just receive and release the love of God. When love is your focus. When you stop trying to change people. It's not your job to make people be anything or do anything. The Holy Spirit is the power that works in us in order to bring what is inside (God's love) out. If the Holy Spirit can't do it, what chance do you have? And, again, it's not your job. Stop trying to be a Spiritual police officer and just let people be who they are. Love people no matter what and see if that doesn't bring positive changes to any and every situation. Rather than trying to force people to be who you think they should be... just love people!

This one might seem a little weird coming from a pastor. A preacher. A blogger. A podcaster. But I'm not trying to convince anybody of anything. I'm not trying to push my beliefs on anybody. I know there is a theology out there that says "If you don't believe the right thing in the right way--say the right words--then you get to spend eternity in a fiery prison when you die." But that's not my theology. I believe, "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8) Absent from the body... present with the Lord. I don't understand how God lives in you... until you die. And then He separates from you and throws you into "hell." And I don't understand how, if sinners are the ones who "go to hell" and God has forgiven our sins, and taken away the sin of the world, and removed our sins from us as far as the East is from the West... I don't understand how anybody could get there in the first place, if it even existed. And, again, I know that comes back to the idea--that I don't agree with--that you have to do something in order to be saved. Or that you have to do something in order to be forgiven. The emphasis is never on us and what we do or don't do. The emphasis is on what Jesus did 2,000 years ago on the cross. His death on the cross was the second death. And, according to Revelation 20:14, "...death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." Jesus's death on the cross was the death OF death. And "hell," or hades, the place of the dead, was no longer needed. The lake of fire, by the way, is God. He is the consuming fire. But I said all that to say this: Your salvation doesn't depend on me. So I don't need to convince you of anything. That's why, for the most part, I try to focus on practical things. On things that help us while we're here, present in the body. So we can experience the days of heaven on earth. Because heaven is not just somewhere you go when you die. It's where you went when Jesus died. It's where you are right now. You are in heaven because heaven is in you. Jesus didn't come so that we might have a fun afterlife. He came that we might have life, and that more abundantly! He came that we might experience His abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life as HE lives His own life in us, and through us, and as us. He came that we might experience and enjoy His life by being still and knowing that He is God. Knowing that God is love. Letting the love that's inside us come out by knowing and believing that it's in there. That's the focus of my ministry; trying to help people see WHO they are, WHERE they are, and WHY they're here. Which is also why I wrote the Answer Trilogy of books--"Identity Crisis," "Six Steps to the Throne," and "EPIC." Those questions need answers. But I'm not going to push them on you. One of my favorite Bible verses of all time is Mark 6:11 in the Message Bible, "If you're not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don't make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way." I'm not going to fight with you. Or argue with you. If you're not picking up what I'm laying down... That's ok. You don't have to. I'm simply going to do the best I can to say what I believe God is saying to me. If you're not into it... okey dokey. I'll shurg my shoulders and move on. No worries. God bless and I love you anyway.

Being a follower of God, or a disciple of Christ, means being a student of love. To me, it's that simple. Learning how to love by learning how we are loved. Letting God love us and loving Him back by loving the people we come into contact with. That, to me, more than anything else, is our EPIC (Eternal Purpose In Christ) destiny. That's why we're here. That's why we were created. The problem is that we get so mixed up so often. We focus so much and so hard to GETTING that we miss the glorious truth that love IS giving. You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. So when we're talking about following... look at the example Jesus set. He gave His life for us. First He said, "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). And then He went to the cross and literally did that very thing. He put His money where His mouth was. He didn't just TELL us what to do. He SHOWED us what He do. He led by example. And, in so doing, He proved how great His love is for us. When we think about the New Commandment: Loving one another as Jesus loves us... we don't have to look very hard to find out how He loves us. One of my favorite songs in the whole world is the one that just says, "Oh, how He loves us..." To me, that's where our focus should be. And watch this: When you're focusing on how much God loves you--when you're filling yourself to overflowing with what He has already filled you with--that's when that love comes out of you naturally. That's when you don't have to worry about anything. You don't have to fake it until you make it. You don't have to decide (or judge) whether or not someone is worthy of love. When you focus on God's love for you, it manifests in love for others. It's too big, and too good, to keep to yourself. You can't keep it in. We live from the inside out, whether we know it or really understand it or not. What you believe is inside WILL come out. It has to. It's too big not to. So if you believe you only have hurt inside... that's what will come out. Hurting people hurt people. But loved people love people. Focusin on love--the love that God has given to us--is what allows us to give that love to others. Receiving it and releasing it. Breathing it in and breathing it out. Letting God love the hell out of us and then loving the hell out of each other. That's what this life is all about. That's how this gift of God--HIS abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love--is experienced and enjoyed. We experience the love we've been given... by giving it away. Love IS giving. Laying your life down for your friends. Giving everything you have and everything you are. That's what life is all about. And that's how we follow God. It's not about obeying rules or fitting into a box. It's about God and people. Loving God and loving people. Loving God BY loving people. And, by the way, when you're ruled, and controlled, and motivated by love... you won't need all those rules. Because it won't be in your heart to do anything but love people. Forgive people. Edify people. See a need and meet up. Train up a child in the way he SHOULD go. Help people. That's what love is all about. Giving people what you have. Giving people who you are. BEING who you are by KNOWING who you are. By believing that you are who God says you are. The biggest and best way you can follow God is by knowing the truth and letting the truth set you free and make you free. Embracing the new (true) you that is Christ in you, the hope of glory! And letting the God... the love... that is inside you come out! That's where He leads, and that's how we follow!

I've long said God is too much of a gentleman to force His will on us. He has given us a measure of free will. And I say "a measure" because when Jesus was lifted up from the earth on the cross and He drew all men into Himself... we didn't have a say in that. We didn't have anything to do with that. He did it for us because we COULDN'T do it ourselves. I love Romans 5:6 (in the New Living Translation), "When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners." When we had nothing to offer... God gave us everything. Not because He wanted anything from us, but because He wanted the best FOR us. And that, friends, is why we can trust Him. I keep talking about obedience being a trust issue. If you trust God you'll follow Him. If you know He has your best interests at heart, and that He knows the end from the beginning, and that He knows the best way to get you from here to there... you won't have any reason NOT to obey Him. Or follow Him. And, listen, I've heard faith desribed not as a blind leap in the dark but as a blind leap in the light. Which I like. But it's even more than that. There's nothing blind about it. Jesus came to give sight to those that are blind. He gave us His Word (which is Jesus, which is love) to be a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. So that we can see where we're going. So that we might know the Way, and not turn to the right or the left. And WHEN we do (not IF we do) there is a voice behind us--in our past, 2000 years ago, echoing from the cross--keeping us firmly planted on the Rock. The Rock that is Jesus. The Rock that is love. Love keeps us on that straight and narrow way that leads to life. Because love IS life. And life is love. You can't have one without the other and you can't do one without the other. And I just want to clear one thing up: Jesus didn't die so we could live. Jesus died so we could die. He rose again so we could live. That's a very important distinction. Before you can walk in newness of life you have to accept the second death. That's what water baptism is about--leaving the old man behind in the watery grave of baptism. Rising up in newness of life is the death OF death and the eternal, everlasting, abundant, Resurrection Life of God as Jesus lives His own life in you, and through you, and as you! We don't have to live Jesus's life. And thank God for that. Because nobody can live Jesus's life except Jesus. All we have to do is let Him live His own life. All we have to do is be still and know that He is God. All we have to do... is follow where He leads. And I'm telling you, the best way to do that is to NOT try to follow in His foot steps, but to let Him make His own foot steps in our feet. To be like Isaiah, "Then I heard the Lord asking, "Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us" I said, "Here I am. Send me"" (Isaiah 6:8 NLT). Answer the call. Let God--let LOVE--lead you. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are called, or identified as, the Son(s) of God! People will know us as Jesus's disciples by the love we have. The love we GIVE. And that, by the way, IS the more excellent way. Not getting, but giving. If you don't know what to do, do what you know. If you don't know what to do... love somebody. Go out of your way to just love somebody. See a need and meet it. That's where God is leading us. He is leading us upward and onward. Upward and God-ward! He is leading us into love by showing us how we are loved... by loving the hell out of us. Filling us up with His love so that we can love Him back by loving each other. Showing us what we have so we know what we have so we can give what we have!

If you're going to follow somebody, you have to have faith that they know where they're going. Obedience is a trust issue. That's why verses like Isaiah 46:10, "Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure," or Psalm 119:105, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" are so important. In those two verses we see that God KNOWS the way to go, and SHOWS the way to go. I've heard the Bible described as a map before. And I like that. That's pretty good. But do you know what's even better than a map? A guide! Look at Isaiah 30:21, "And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." Think about that for a minute. It doesn't say IF you turn. It says WHEN you turn. It's so easy to get mixed up. To get going in the wrong direction. You think you're doing right, but you go off track. Well, when that happens God doesn't slam us for it. He is not in the punishing business. He is in the chastening and correcting business. Because what He wants, at the end of the day, is for us to walk in the way. The straight and narrow way that leads to life. Jesus came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. Jesus came that we might know that there IS a more excellent way, and that HE IS that more excellent way. LOVE is that more excellent way. So when we start to go off course God doesn't destroy us. A Word behind us (in the past, the finished work of the cross) brings us back to that path. That way. And the Word, of course, is Jesus. The Word is love. Love is the only thing that can bring you to love. And let me say this--sometimes we feel like we need to hit rock bottom before we can start to climb again. Sometimes we feel like we've gone too far and there's no way back. Sometimes we even feel like the prodigal son who makes his own bed and then doesn't want to lay in it. But what ultimately brought him back to his father's house... was his father's love. If he didn't think he'd be welcomed (on some level, even as a servant if that was the best he could do) he wouldn't have gone home. And of course we know his father ran out to great him and restored him to the place where he always belonged. It's good in Daddy's house. That's what I'm trying to say. And we're always welcome in our heavenly Father's house. That's where He wants us to be. That's where He's calling us from--and calling us to. That's where He's leading us. Now, having said that, being in Father's house doesn't mean isolated from people. It means living from the inside out. Letting that love that lives in us come out of us no matter where we are. Showing people that same hospitality that our heavenly Father shows us. That's where He leads. That's HOW He leads. One more memory verse to wrap up tonight's Rant. "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" (Romans 2:4). God leads through His goodness. His Word (which is Jesus, which is love) is the lamp and the light that guides us and leads us and directs us and protects us. He doesn't have to try to scare us straight. He keeps us on the straight and narrow path that leads to life by loving us. By showing us the way. They way that He has already walked. The way that He IS. To live is to love and to love is to live. How else could God lead us to one but by showing us the other? It's all about life. It's all about love. That is the way. And all we have to do is follow where He leads!

"Where you lead, I will follow." To me, that's a pretty good prayer. Especially because it puts the emphasis where it belongs--on Jesus. It's on HIM to lead us where HE wants us to go. And, by the way, He's more than happy, willing, capable, and able to do so. He knows where we should go. He'll get us there. Whenever the people of Israel were "wandering" in the wilderness, what was really happening was God was leading them step by step in order to teach them, really, how to live. They had been slaves for over 400 years. They were moving into a radically different paradigm of life. That's a big part of what the Ten Commandments were all about. All of a sudden the people of Israel went from not being able to do anything except what their slave masters told them... to having total freedom. This is the same as--on this side of the cross--us coming out of the old and into the new. Coming out of death and into life. And, yes, there's an adjustment period. Some people will always test the boundaries. Some people will always try to see how far they can go. But that's not really freedom. That's looking for bondage. Freedom is knowing you can do anything, but knowing that you don't have to. Knowing you can do anything... and only doing the things that are good for you. 1 Corinthians 6:12, "All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." Just because you CAN do it doesn't mean you SHOULD do it. I think that's a lesson that needs to be learned. Or re-learned. And I think it comes from following Christ. Because He will never lead you anywhere you shouldn't go. Those who are led of the Spirit will be called (or identified as) the Son(s) of God. Letting the Spirit of truth lead and guide us into all truth is how we experience and enjoy the gift of God that we've been given. The gift of God which is eternal life. The truth which is "God is love and He loves you." That's where God is leading us--into the understanding of His love. This life, especially when you understand that "this life" is the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of God, is a never-ending journey into the heart of the matter. The heart of the matter is the heart. That's where the issue (love) of life flows from. That's where God is leading us; into HIS heart (beating with love in our chests). That love inside come out of us. That's true freedom. Not freedom TO sin, but freedom FROM sin. Freedom TO love because we know that we ARE loved. And when we know that we are loved... we know that we are love! It's not just what we do... it's who we are. God is love. As He is, so are we in this world. If God is love, and we have His heart, His Spirit, His name, His nature... that means WE are love. And when we know who we are, everything else flows from there. I said this yesterday, am I'm going to keep saying it: Obedience is a trust issue. If you trust God, and you know that He has your best interestes at heart--if you trust that He KNOWS what's best for you, and He KNOWS how to get you there--then you will have no trouble following where He leads!

There are a lot of religious folk out there who claim to be "following Jesus." Or who, more often, tell others to "follow Jesus." And while I think that's great advice, I want to spend a few days kind of diving in to it and looking at what it really means to be a follower, or a disciple, of Christ. And let's start right there. "Disciple," according to dictionary.com, means, ""A person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; follower." A student, in other words. And we know that God is love. So a disciple, or follower, of Christ is a student of love. Learning how to love by learning how we are loved. It comes back, to me, to Acts 22:25, "For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard." Knowing what you've got and giving what you've got. A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument. Once you've seen and heard something... you KNOW it. Beyond the shadow of any doubt. And once you know it... you can throw it. I believe we go through things for two reasons: 1. So we can learn and grow. 2. So we can help others through those same things. Having someone tell you--in the midst of your trials and tribulations-- "It's ok. I've been where you are. You can get through this, because I got through it, and because I'm going to help you through it" is so powerful. It can give hope to the hopeless. And, again, that's how we learn things. We learn how to love people by learning how God loves us. We learn how to help people by learning how God helped us. It's all about taking what's inside and letting it out. Knowing and believing that we are loved by God, and loving Him back by loving people. Look at Romans 8:14--and this is our key verse for this Rant series-- "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." There are a lot of different terms here. "Followers of Christ." "Disciples." But what it really comes down to is just that; If you are led by the Spirit, you are walking in your true identity. And, in a sense, it's about following in your Father's foot steps. It's about continuing on the family business. Isn't that what Jesus said when He was lost for a few days and His parents found Him in the temple? I must be about my Father's business. And He was just a boy. But He was led by the Spirit. He knew who He was, and He knew what He was about. That makes life so much more simple. And notice I didn't say "easy." Because loving people takes a lot of effort. Love IS maximum effort. Giving everything you have and everything you are. Giving it your all. But here's the key--and we're really going to hit on this in the coming days--if you don't trust God, you won't follow Him. If you don't think He knows where to go, you'll go your own way. Obedience is a trust issue. If you trust God to take care of you, you will follow where He leads. You won't go kicking and screaming either. You'll be happy to obey. Obedience is not about fear of punishment. And it's not about obligation. Obedience is about trust, pure and simple. If you trust God, you will obey Him. You will follow Him. Because you will know that He is leading you to where you need to go. Telling you the best possible thing to do in any given situation (which, of course, is love). A disciple of Christ is a student of love. Following where love leads!

The key to experiencing the new things that are available to us--a new life, a new name, a new nature, a new commandment for a new man--is letting go of the old. Just walking away from the things that used to hold you down. Not fighting with them. The only fight left after Jesus won the war to end all wars on the cross is the good fight of faith. Laying hold of the gift we've already been given. But if our hands are full of what the world has forced on us, we can't lay hold of anything, well, new. If you're always trying to earn something, you rob yourself from experiencing and enjoying the gift you've been given. So let go and let God. Remember in Hebrews we saw that all things are under our feet, but we don't always see it that way. But. We DO see Jesus. If we look for Him. Jesus said, "A I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find: knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Luke 11:9). Sometimes I think we have not because we ask not. We don't find, because we don't look. We become... if not comfortable, then at least accustomed to... settling for less. We just take what the world forces on us. We try to do what the old saying says, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." And I can see some wisdom in this. Do the best you can with what you have wherever you are. However, I can see MORE wisdom in simply not taking what the world has to offer. When life gives you lemons, realize and understand that you don't have to take what life gives you. There is a more excellent way. There is something else available to you. It's called the Kingdom of God. It's called ABUNDANT life. And what makes life so abundant... is love. The difference, in a word, between death and life... is love. No love, no life. Know love, know life. They aren't just connected, they are the same thing. So in order to experience what is available to us--what has been given to us--we need to let go of everything else. This life can't be truly experienced unless and until we bury that old man (and all of his baggage) in the watery grave of baptism. Unless and until we come forth out of the old. That's what Lazarus did when Jesus called for him. The dead came to life by leaving the grave. And we know what a rut is, right? Just a grave with the ends kicked out. We can keep going through the motions. We can keep running around in circles on the hamster wheel... or we can step into our EPIC (Eternal Purpose In Christ) destiny! We can be who the world tells us to be (while trying and failing to be someone we're not), or we can be who our heavenly Father says we are: His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased! Your life flows from your identity. What you believe is what you do. Your actions flow from your faith. And faith works by love. If you know and believe you are loved... everything lines up from there. If you know and believe you are loved... you can love. And that's the secret of life. That's your purpose. That's your destiny. To receive the love that God has given you, and release it to an unsuspecting world. All you have to do is receive it and release it. Let go of the old and embrace the new. Let what's really inside you come out by knowing and believing that it's in there!