MLK

Why is there a Martin Luther King Day?

Here in the United States, Martin Luther King Jr is remembered with a national holiday to commemorate his birthday.  Since Martin Luther King Jr is often referred to as MLK, this day is often referred to as MLK Day.

Having a national holiday to commemorate his birthday is a pretty big deal.  Previously, there were only two other men so remembered - George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

However, to make room on the federal calendar for MLK Day, the birthdays of these two great US Presidents were combined into one holiday - President's Day.  So now MLK stands alone in his birthday being a national holiday.

Here in America, MLK is remembered for bringing about the passage of the Bill of Rights of 1957, 1960, 1964, and 1968 through peaceful resistance.

The Origin of Peaceful Resistance

This peaceful resistance was a system of non-violent protests, marches, and boycotts.  MLK learned this from studying the successful efforts of Mahatma Gandhi to bring about changes in the treatment of India by the British Empire.

Gandhi himself was inspired to bring the plight of the people of India directly to the people of Britain by Amy Carmichael.

This North Irish missionary to India caused the British Parliament to pass laws to end many brutal customs of India.  Amy Carmichael did this by alerting the British public to them, when she wrote Things as They Are: Mission Work in Southern India in 1903.

Amy Carmichael was inspired to use this tactic by William Carey.

The British missionary William Carey had been forced to live in the Dutch colony of Serampore, because the British government had did not want him to disturb the trade of East India Company by upsetting the local people.  So, he finally got the horrendous practice of Sati (burning a widow alive on the funeral pyre of her husband) outlawed by publishing books and articles read by the British public.  After twenty-five years of effort, the practice was outlawed by the British in 1829.

So, in reality MLK was following a pattern of bring about social change through non-violent means that had been part of Christian practice since the time of the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ).  It was though non-violent means that the Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) turned the Roman Empire upside down (Acts 17:6-8).

The Origin of the Civil Rights Movement

MLK was not the first to champion civil rights in America.  Republicans were.

The Republican Party was founded to end slavery and give civil rights to African Americans in 1854. 

The first Republican president,  Abraham Lincoln, wanted give civil rights to African Americans after the Civil War was over.   However, he was assassinated in 1865 before the Civil War ended.  So, the Republicans in Congress worked to make this a reality without him, after the Civil War ended.

Republicans introduced and passed the Civil Rights Acts of 1866, 1875, 1957, and 1960.  Every one of these bills passed with almost complete Republican support.

Republicans also voted for the passage of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968 in a much larger percentage than Democrats.

The 1866 Civil Rights Act created by Republicans only passed by overriding the veto of the Democrat President.  Democrats were almost universally opposed to it.  Many of the provisions of this first Civil Rights Act were soon incorporated into the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments.

The 1875 Civil Rights Acts created by Republicans passed over heavy Democrat opposition.

Later, a Supreme Court packed with members nominated by Democrats, ruled the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional.  This denied civil rights to African Americans for almost a hundred years.

The provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 were finally put back into law, when they were used as the backbone of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968.

The 1957 Civil Rights Act was proposed by the Republican president Eisenhower (Ike).  Democrats from southern states fought its passage with every tactic available to them.  They did managed to get the protections that it offered African Americans weakened considerably from the one proposed by the president before being brought to a vote.

This was mostly due to the efforts of the Democratic Senate Minority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson.  It passed when finally brought to a vote with over ninety percent support from Republicans, and barely a majority of Democrats.  Enforcement was largely ignored in southern states.

Next, the 1960 Civil Rights Act was proposed by Ike.  It was meant to close of of the loopholes that had been inserted by Democrats into the 1957 Civil Rights Act to weaken it.  Again, over eighty percent of Republicans voted for it, while only about sixty percent of Democrats voted for it.

When Democratic President John F. Kennedy (JFK) proposed a new Civil Rights Act that restored most of  the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1875,  he had almost unanimous Republican support.  It sailed through the House of Representatives, but was stalled in the Senate by filibuster conducted by a group of southern Democrats.

It was only after President Kennedy was assassinated that things changed.  The new president, Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ), was able to secure passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with about eighty percent Republican support and sixty percent Democrat support.

Finally, the Fair Housing Act was introduced to congress in January of 1967.  It too was blocked by most Democrats over concerns of the realtor estate lobby about what it would do to housing prices.  (This lobby was one of the largest contributors to the Democratic party.)

It was modified with additional provisions to correct weakness found in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and was renamed the Civil Rights Act of 1968.  It also put into place the rest of the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1875.

It was only able to be brought a vote and passed, after MLK was assassinated and riots ensued. Like the previous civil rights acts, it passed with about eighty percent Republican support and sixty percent Democrat support.

So, in reality, MLK helped the Republicans give all Americans the Civil Rights in 1957, 1960, 1964, and 1968 that the Republicans had previously given them ninety-three years earlier in the Civil Rights Act of 1875.

The real tragedy is that it took the assassination of many champions of freedom, including MLK, to get these two civil rights acts passed over the opposition of Democrats.

The Role of MLK and Ike in the Civil Rights Movement

This does not diminish the importance of what MLK did in any manner.  The Republicans simply could not have done it without his relentless efforts to bring this issue to the attention of the American people.

MLK began his work as a pastor in Montgomery, Alabama in 1954.  Soon, events would occur in this city, which would bring about the return of the Civil Rights Movement.

First, Claudette Clovin in March of 1955 refused to give up her seat on the bus to a European American.  She was arrested.  However,  MLK was finishing up his doctorate at this time and was unable to give civil rights his full attention.

MLK received his doctorate in June of 1955.  He was now able to give civil rights his full attention.

Like the Founding Fathers of America, MLK understood that a time for civil disobedience had arrived.  He began the work of planning and organizing, but he had trouble getting enough people to commit enough to the cause to be effective.  He needed something that would galvanize people into action.

That something was Rosa Parks.  In December of 1955, she refused to give up her seat on the bus to a European American.  She was also arrested, like Claudette Clovin before her.  However, this time MLK was able to give civil rights his full attention.

The day after Rosa Parks was arrested, MLK started the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955.  During this boycott, violence against African Americans rose up across the South, including the home of MLK being bombed.  This violence did not deter MLK or the boycott.  This boycott lasted until the US District Court ruled against laws segregating bus seats towards the end of December in 1956.

This propelled MLK into the national spotlight.  It also emboldened US Attorney General Hebert Brownell to draft legislation designed to make void all laws that served as barriers to African Americans voting.  This Republican presented it to Ike to be sent to congress.  This legislation became the Civil Rights Act of 1957.  While the Civil Right Act of 1957 had been weakened considerably by Democrats from the original form, it was still a start and a victory for MLK.

MLK joined with other Christian leaders in the fight for civil rights to form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC).  This group was raised to prominence with the help of the world famous Christian evangelist Billy Graham, who MLK met at one of his crusades in New York City.

Later that year, MLK spoke for the first time to a national audience, when the SCLC led the Prayer Pilgrimage For Freedom in front of the Lincoln Memorial.  MLK pleaded for stronger legislation than the Civil Right Act of 1957 to be passed, so that African Americans in the South would be able to vote without intimidation.  MLK became a household name and the de facto voice of sixteen million African Americans in pleading their case for civil rights.

Then in 1958, MLK wrote a book called Stride Towards Freedom to expound upon his points made during the Prayer Pilgrimage For Freedom.  While at a signing for this book in Harlem, he was stabbed in the chest with a letter opener by an African American woman, who thought that he was conspiring with Communists.  He underwent surgery and was hospitalized for several weeks.

By 1959, MLK was back in the fight for civil rights.  He wrote another book named The Measure of a Man.  In this collection of his sermons, he made his case from the Book of Truth (The Bible).  His sermons showed that all people needed the love of the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) and that there was no room for unequal treatment of people in a Christian nation like the United States.

Among the readers of this book was Ike.  So, in that same year, Ike proposed new legislation that gave the Federal government more authority to ensure that African Americans were able to exercise their right to vote.  This legislature became the Civil Rights Act of 1960 over the objections of southern Democrats.

The Role of MLK and JFK in the Civil Rights Movement

Next, MLK built upon the momentum created by the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1960 to move the American public to finally accept the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 with some additional improvements.  While MLK would have liked a sooner passage, he understood that he had to work with others to accomplish this goal in pieces.  He understood that real change usually comes step by step.

Top among those that he had to work with was the new president, JFK.

When JFK took office, he was not interested in expanding civil rights legislature.  His plan was to enforce the existing laws.  He was very concerned with getting his own legislative agenda, called "The New Frontier", through Congress.  He did not want to upset southern Democrats.  He could not get anything done without their consent.

In order to get their consent, JFK had selected LBJ as vice president.  LBJ was a southern Democrat from Texas and was well respected by southern Democrats.  After all, he had managed to get the Republican sponsored Civil Rights Act of 1957 weakened considerably.

However, JFK did use executive orders to enforce equal treatment for employment upon government contractors in 1961.  This kind of enforcement of existing law was as far as JFK was willing to go at that time.

In November of 1961, the SCLC helped organize a non-violent protest in Albany, Georgia.  MLK went there in December to give advice and was arrested.  He was bailed out of jail anonymously by Billy Graham, so he could continue his fight for civil rights.

In 1962, MLK called on JFK to issue an executive order similar to the Emancipation Proclamation that had been issued by Republican president Abraham Lincoln.  JFK declined, because he did not want damage his chances of getting his own legislative agenda through Congress.

By 1963, the SCLC determined that JFK was only going to take action if he was forced to do so to deal with a crisis.

So, the Birmingham Campaign organized by MLK in April of 1963.  This led to nationally televised violence against African Americans, including children and old women, by law enforcement officers.  The nation was outraged, but still JFK refused to send in federal troops to put an end to this unjust treatment.  He was still concerned about upsetting southern Democrats in Congress.

When the home of MLK was bombed for a second time in May of 1963, JFK finally told the American public that he would see what he could do under existing law to stop the violence in Birmingham.

However, his likely Republican rival in the upcoming presidential election raised money to get MLK released from jail.  The Republicans were making an issue of the need for a new Civil Rights Act like the one that they had passed in 1875.

Finally, in June of 1963, JFK announced his own civil rights legislation in a speech to the American people over radio and television.  His legislature would move the nation closer to accepting the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 that had been passed by Republicans.

The next day, southern Democrats in Congress killed a key piece of the legislature proposed by JFK.  The New Frontier program was dead.

However, JFK realized that MLK and the Republicans had made a new Civil Rights Act necessary, if he was going to be elected to a second term and the Democrats were going to retain control of Congress.  JFK found himself needing MLK as much as he needed southern Democrats in Congress.
 
Next, MLK announced a march on Washington.  JFK reached out MLK and requested some changes in the focus of the march, so his civil rights legislation could pass.

In exchange, JFK arranged for funding for the organizers, enlisted additional people, including members of labor unions, to attend the march to ensure that over 100,000 people showed up, and provided protection for the marchers to prevent violence from occurring.  JFK and MLK personally edited all speeches to insure that any language that would provoke violence was removed.  A peaceful demonstration was essential to success in getting his civil rights legislature taken up by congress.

After the success of the March on Washington in August of 1963, MLK met with JFK for photos to show them working together to bring about his civil rights legislation.

This helped put pressure to bring his civil rights legislation to a vote, but Southern Democrats continued to do everything they could to prevent it from ever being voted on.  JFK was able to get enough Democrats to join Republican support to prevent a filibuster by September of 1963.

When JFK was assassinated in November of 1963, LBJ made a passionate plea to Congress to pass the JFK civil rights legislation as a fitting memorial for JFK.

LBJ managed to get the JFK civil rights legislation brought a vote in the House of Representatives in the beginning of 1964.  It was approved and passed on to the Senate.

However, Southern Democrats in the Senate proceeded to filibuster the JFK civil rights legislation.

So, MLK kept up the pressure to get the JFK civil rights legislation passed.  He convince the SCLC to join in the effort of another organization in Saint Augustine, Florida in March of 1964.  He convinced hundreds of European Americans to join him.  They were all arrested.

In June of 1964, MLK led protest marches through the streets of Saint Augustine, that were met with violent opposition from the Klu Klux Klan.  Hundreds of the marchers were arrested.

The violence and unjust arrests got the attention of the American people.  They were demanding passage of the JFK civil rights legislation.  It was apparent to every politician that the tide had turned.

Finally, after a small change in one provision, LBJ was able to convince enough Southern Democrats in the Senate to join in a vote to end the filibuster.  He did this by confronting them about their claims to be Christians on the one hand, and not treating African Americans as they would want to be treated as commanded by the Man of Truth on the other hand.

The House approved the amended version of the JFK civil rights legislation.  LBJ signed it into law in July of 1964 as the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

During this process, Barry Goldwater, the Republican presidential candidate, flipped on his previous support of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

(Goldwater had championed civil rights and worked for passage of every civil rights act since 1952, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, before he flipped his position.  In fact, his very first act when he arrived in the US Senate building in 1952 was to desegregate the Senate lunch room.)

Goldwater betrayed the Republican efforts to restore the liberties given by the Civil Rights Act of 1875.  This Judas did not do this for thirty pieces of silver, but in a bid to win support from the southern states in his bid for president.  Instead, he ended up only winning the five states of the Deep South, which had the most discriminatory laws.

So, the goal of JFK was realized in the elections of November of 1964, when LBJ was elected as president and the Democrats retained control of Congress.   

The Role of MLK and LBJ in the Civil Rights Movement

While the 1964 Civil Rights Act had provided penalties for preventing anyone from voting, it still had not been enforced in the Deep South.  Many African Americans had still been denied their right to vote in the 1964 elections.  The worst of this oppression was in Selma, Alabama.

In January of 1965, MLK went to Selma to organize a march to the state capital building in Montgomery to protest this oppression.  He then left to raise funds.

In February of 1965, MLK went to Selma to be arrested for defying the laws against civil rights speech in Selma.  His arrest brought publicity to the oppression in Selma.

In March of 1965, MLK met with LBJ to get an injunction against arresting the protesters when they marched.  He wanted to be sure everything was in place for a successful march first.

However, while MLK was attending to his duties at church on Sunday, the protesters proceeded to march without him.

When the county Sheriff, Clark, met the protesters with a posse of 200 deputies, many of who were members of the KKK and similar groups, he told the protesters to go home.  They refused and the posse started attacking the protesters with night sticks, tear gas, and whips.  This enraged the American public when they saw the footage of "Bloody Sunday" on television.

LBJ immediately gave a televised speech deploying the violence and a promise to soon put forth new legislation to grant the federal government power to ensure that all Americans could be registered to vote.

Before LBJ could draft this new voter protection legislation, the protesters in Selma prepared for a second march two days later.  LBJ sent Collins to ask MLK to prevent them from doing so on his behalf.  LBJ needed more time to ensure protection of the protesters.

Collins made a deal with Clark that the protesters would not be attacked, if they turned around once they came to Edmund Pettus Bridge.  MLK took the deal since a march to Montgomery was doomed to failure at that time.

So, the protesters marched from the church to the bridge, then MLK halted them on the bridge, gave a sermon, and they turned around to march back to the church.  This televised event became known as "Turnaround Tuesday".

Six days later, LBJ presented his voter protection legislature to Congress.

Two days later, a federal judge made an injunction ensuring that the protesters would not be arrested for peaceful protest, after he received confirmation from LBJ that he would enforce the injunction.

So, four days later, on March 21, MLK led the march of 8,000 protesters, many of them European Americans, from Selma.  When the protesters arrived at the capital building in Montgomery four days later, they had grown to 25,000 protesters.  MLK then delivered a speech from steps of the capital building declaring that it would not be long until the end of the kind of oppression that existed in Selma.

The march from Selma to Montgomery was a success.  There had been no violence against the protesters thanks to the injunction.  Soon, there were other mass registrations of African Americans across the South.

In August of 1965, LBJ signed his voter protection legislation into law as the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

So, now a large part of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 created by Republicans was once again the law of the land.  However, LBJ wanted to ensure that Democrats remained in control of Congress.

Before Ike had signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957, only twenty percent of eligible African Americans voters in the South were actually able to vote.  Now, with one hundred percent of eligible African American voters in the South being able to vote, there was a new political reality.

If these southern African Americans decided to vote largely for Republicans, as they had after the Civil War, then southern Democrats would be replaced with Republicans.  If this happened, then Democrats would no longer remain in control of Congress.

LBJ realized that the Democrats needed to restore the rest of the civil rights that had been granted by Republicans in 1875 - without giving the Republicans credit - if they were to retain control of Congress.  The main obstacle to achieving this was southern Democrats.

He needed a new cause to champion to accomplish this.  MLK was about to give him one.

Now that African Americans were able to register and vote in the South without intimidation, MLK turned his attention to acts of discrimination in the North.

So, in 1966, MLK went to Chicago to see for himself if the reports that he had heard about racial discrimination in housing were true.  He soon found that things were worse than he had heard.

MLK conducted an experiment where he sent European American and African American couples, who were the same in income, etc, to various real estate offices.  The real estate offices invariably sent the European Americans to newer housing in neighborhoods with lower crime rates and better schools, while invariably the African American couples were sent to older housing in neighborhoods with higher crime rates and substandard schools.

So, MLK began a series of peaceful protests and marches to end this housing discrimination in Chicago.  However, he soon found the Chicago Open Housing Movement was facing harsher attacks than any that he had experienced in the South.  He was personally assaulted numerous times while the Chicago police refused to intervene.

MLK realized that the only way to end this discrimination was federal legislation.  However, both Southern and Northern Democrats were against this as well as the National Association of Real Estate Boards, one of their largest contributors.  This issue alone destroyed all efforts in 1966 to fill in the remaining gaps between current law and the Civil Rights Act of 1875.

However, the Fair Housing Act was introduced in January of 1967 to address this discrimination in housing.   It met fierce opposition in the House of Representative by Democrats, but almost none from Republicans.  It looked like another lost cause.

So, MLK largely gave up on this effort in 1967, and turned his attention to opposing the Vietnam War.  This was a costly mistake.  It diverted his attention from finishing the fight for civil rights.  It also caused friction with his allies in the fight for Civil Rights, including Billy Graham and LBJ.

However, the efforts of MLK to get fair housing in Chicago the previous year had set off an expected series of events.  Soon, there were riots over fair housing across large cities during the summer of 1967.

So the Fair Housing Act was amended to have all of the remaining gaps between current law and the Civil Rights Act of 1875 filled.  It was also expanded to include more legislation to protect peaceful protesters as well as the rights of other groups like Native Americans.

The House of Representative then passed this greatly expanded Fair Housing Act and sent it to the Senate in August of 1967.

The southern Democrats in the Senate immediately filibustered the Fair Housing Act.

However, MLK was encouraged and returned his attention to civil rights again in 1968.  He organized the Poor People's Campaign to address matters of economic justice. 

This effort was largely unsuccessful because the goals were too vague and too broad.

However, in March of 1968, the Senate Republican leader, Everitt Dirksen, was able to defeat the southern Democrat filibuster by a very slim margin, when he made a minor adjustment to one of the provisions.

Then on April 4th of 1968, the day that the amended Fair Housing Act was to go to a vote in the Senate, MLK was assassinated.  Civil unrest sprang up across the country.

The next day, LBJ urged the House of Representatives to pass the Fair Housing Act.

Five days later the House of Representatives passed the Fair Housing Act and renamed it the Civil Rights Act of 1968.  LBJ signed it into law the next day.

So, thanks to the efforts of MLK, the protections given by Republicans in the Civil Rights Act of 1875 finally became a reality ninety-three years later.

However, LBJ was successful in his efforts to do this without the Republicans getting credit.

The voting public saw a Democrat president sign a law that was sent to him by a Democrat controlled Congress.  They seemed to have forgotten that almost all of the opposition to civil rights was also from Democrats.  LBJ had managed to pull the wool over the eyes of the sheeple.

The Legacy of MLK

So, Americans celebrate MLK Day because of the civil rights that MLK made possible.

During his thirteen year struggle, MLK had been arrested twenty-nine times, had his home bombed twice, was stabbed once, assaulted numerous times, and finally killed for his stand for civil rights.

MLK overcame all opposition because he had heroic resolve.  He secured civil rights for all Americans when he gave the last full measure of devotion.

MLK could see that in reality we are all just one of six shades of brown.  He understood that even the concept of that there is such a thing as an interracial marriage is wrong.

MLK was right.  There is only one race - the human race.  The Father of Truth has made all people from the same source (Acts 17:24-26).

MLK was following the call of the Father of Truth on his life to end the unjust treatment of people, so he experienced persecution as promised in the Book of Truth (2 Timothy 3:12). 

MLK was an imitator of the Man of Truth in this regard.

The Man of Truth laid down his life for the sake of people of every race (John 10:14-16).  He has laid down his life to deliver the human race from oppression (Hebrews 2:9-15).

However, the Man of Truth laid his life down voluntarily, so he could take it back up again (John 10:17-18).

Since the Father of Truth raised him from the dead, the Man of Truth will one day ensure that all people are treated according to the contents of their hearts (Acts 17:30-31).

The problem is that nothing MLK did can solve all discrimination problems, because the human heart is full of corruption (Jeremiah 17:9).  People cannot end the discrimination with an unchanged heart (Romans 8:7).

People must come into the House of Truth and have their heart changed to truly end discrimination (John 3:6-8).  As MLK preached, all men are sinners before the Father of Truth, and need to come into the House of Truth (Romans 3:22-26).

So, like MLK, make the Man of Truth your king, because you believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).  The right to come into the House of Truth is a universal right given by the Father of Truth (Romans 10:10-13).

Come into the House of Truth!

Step By Step

How does real change usually come?

When I first came into the House of Truth, I was ignorant of the gifts of the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost), did not read the Original Covenant (Tanakh aka The Old Testament), listened to secular music, worked seven days a week, ate pretty much anything that moved, was disconnected from the Jewish people, refused to go to church, and celebrated religious holidays like Easter, Halloween, and Christmas in the same way as everyone else.

Thirty years later, I operated in the gifts of the Spirit of Truth, read the entire Book of Truth (The Bible), listened to only Christian music, worked only six days a week, only ate food that the Book of Truth calls clean, had assimilated into the Jewish people, went to church and rested on the Sabbath, and only celebrated religious holidays like Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles - without Rabbinic distort.

These changes that did not happen suddenly when I completed the one step program and came to the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) in total surrender.  These changes did not happen instantly, like when I was delivered from the monster within.

These changes did not come overnight, nor did I make any of them out of a sense of condemnation. In fact, many of them occurred without any conscious effort on my behalf.  I did not plan them and they did not occur in one giant leap.

I got from where I was to where I am step by step.

The fact is, that many of these changes did not start until a long while had passed.  I was one messed human being, and the Spirit of Truth simply had bigger fish to fry, when it came to my life.

For example, before I came into the House of Truth, I had a list of people in my head that I wanted to bury in the woods AND an obsession with bacon.  It should be obvious that the list was a bigger problem than the bacon.

Do not get me wrong.  I am in no way teaching that people should ignore what the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law) says about eating, for I want to be great in the Kingdom of the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) (Matthew 5:17-19).

I am saying that the weightier matters of the Law of Truth had to be taken care of first, before the lessor matters of the Law of Truth could be dealt with.  This is the same thing that the Man of Truth said (Matthew 23:23).

So, there was a transformation that started with the most important things.

Step One:  Came into the House of Truth

Before I came into the House of Truth, it was the peace that I experienced while playing Christian rock music while sleeping,  which had played a large part of my decision to surrender control of my life to the Man of Truth.

When I came into the House of Truth in 1982 AD, I immediately destroyed my secular records that blatantly glorified the Father of Lies (HaShatan aka Satan Aka The Devil).  However, I continued to listen to the rest of my secular records, even though I did not experience the same peace as when I listened to Christian rock music.

However, I did read the Renewed Covenant (B'rit Chadashah aka The New Testament) over and over again, even though there were lots of things in it that I did not understand.

So by the end of 1982 AD, I was ignorant of the gifts of the Spirit of Truth, refused to go to church, listened to secular music, was disconnected from the Jewish people, did not read the Original Covenant, worked seven days a week, ate pretty much anything that moved, and celebrated religious holidays like Easter, Halloween, and Christmas in the same way as everyone else.

Step 2:  Connected with the Spirit of Truth

I had read that the Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) would lay hands on the sick and the sick would recover (Mark 16:18).  The religious professionals I asked, told me that this verse meant everything except what it said.

This was discouraging, because I had a chronic condition that doctors could treat, but not heal.

However, one Friday night I went with my cousin in Tulsa to hear a preacher in a warehouse.  He told us that this verse meant exactly what it said.  Then he laid hands on me and I was instantly healed.

It was not long before I was also laying hands on the sick in the name of the Man of Truth and the sick were recovering.

Still, I refused to go to church.

Then another Friday night at a home study, hands were laid on me and I began to produce the sound of power.  Once the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) began putting words in my mouth, there were some immediate changes.

First of all, I wanted to go to church all the time.

I wanted to spend as much time as possible praising the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD).  I wanted to hear the Word of Truth.  I wanted to learn more about the Man of Truth.  I wanted to be where the presence of the Spirit of Truth was overwhelming.

Second, I could not stand my secular records.  In fact, I went home and destroyed all of them, even though I only owned one Christian record at that time.  I listened to that Christian record over and over again, until I got another one.

Still, I continued to listen to secular music on the radio, because there were no stations that played Christian rock in Northwest Arkansas at the time.  In fact, the only Christian music on the radio at all were very slow church hymns that appealed mostly to old women like my Grandmothers.

However, when I was driving, most of the time I found myself either listening to someone preaching the Good News, or listening to someone teaching about something in the Book of Truth, or praying in other tongues.

I also began casting Spirits of Lies (devils aka demons aka unclean spirits aka gods) out of people.

So by 1983 AD, I was operating in the gifts of the Spirit of Truth.  I was also going to church every Sunday, and mostly listening to Christian music.

Still, I was disconnected from the Jewish people, continued to read only the Renewed Covenant, worked seven days a week, ate anything that moved, and celebrated the religious holidays that I had grown up with in the same way as everyone else.

Step 3:  Connected with the Greek people

After that, I prayed to get to know the Father of Truth better.  So, the Spirit of Truth led me to begin eating the breakfast of champions.  Soon, I had the strength to make more changes to my life.

So, I joined the US Air Force in 1985 AD and was stationed in Greece the next year to work on computer hardware.

While there, I lived in Sourmena, surrounded by Greeks.  It was there that I first began encountering things from Jewish culture, for Sourmena had been a Jewish colony in Greece.

I soon learned to read Greek.  I then began applying what I learned to study the Renewed Covenant in the original language.  Some of those things that I did not understand were starting to make more sense.

I began to spend as much time as possible praying in tongues and fasting.  I was becoming obsessed with fasting, because I had learned by experience that it is the fastest way to victory.

I would pray out loud in tongues on the roof of the house of my landlord, who could not speak English.  When my wife learned to speak Greek, she talked to my landlord about my praying on the roof.  He wanted to know why I could pray out loud in Greek, but could not understand people when they spoke to me in Greek.

(I did not know enough Greek at the time to know that I had been doing this.  My wife learned to speak Greek much quicker than me.)

Eventually, I had became so obsessed with these things that I was not spending adequate time with my wife and son.  I had found something that was literally better than sex!

The issue was not self-control, for the Spirit of Truth had given me self-control as promised (Galatians 5:22-23).  The problem was that I did not really know the right way to treat my wife and son.  I needed to know how to do these things better.

A large part of this problem was that I had never read the entire Original Covenant.  It had not been written in Greek and it was about four times as large as the Renewed Covenant.

Then one of the Children of Truth stationed in Greece challenged me to read the entire Book of Truth.  So, I began in Genesis (Bereshit) and went from there.

After I finished the Original Covenant, I realized that a lot of the Renewed Covenant was quotes from the Original Covenant.  I found that these two covenants were not at odds with each other as I had heard on the radio, but were really the inseparable covenants.

Some of those things that I had not understood before, now made sense.  I could see that I needed to make more changes in how I lived my life.

It was during this time that I came to resent the holidays that I had grown up with.  I had known before that they had pagan customs from idolatry, but after reading the Original Covenant, this began to really bother me.  I did not want anything to do with idolatry.  So, I decided to stop celebrating them.

My wife did not fight me on this, but she did say, that it did seem like the Father of Truth would not take something away from us, without giving us something better.  I thought she had a valid point, but I could not tell her what He had given us, instead of these holidays.

I also decided to stop listening to secular music completely while in Greece.  

This was tough to do, since there was only one English speaking radio station in Greece, the one that broadcast out of the base.  It only played Christian music for an hour and a half on Sunday each week on a show called "Love Alive".  There was very little Christian music that could be bought on base and none off base.

So, my wife had the idea that I record Love Alive on tapes and listen to that during the week.  I did this and listened to that in my car instead of the radio.  By this time, I had branched out to listening to other types of music besides hard rock and rap.  The words and the anointing of the Spirit of Truth were simply more important.

By the time I left Greece, I was dreaming in Greek.

So, when I was discharged from the US Air Force in 1989 AD, I was operating in the gifts of the Spirit, listening only to Christian music, and reading the entire Book of Truth.

Also I was going to church every Sunday, had unintentionally formed a weak connection to the Jewish people, and did not celebrate Easter, Halloween, and Christmas at all. 

However, I still worked seven days a week, and ate anything that moved.

Step 4:  Made time for the important things

After I returned home I found myself feeling sick to my stomach one day, when my brother asked me if I wanted to eat some barbecued bunny.

I had loved to eat this before, but now I did not want to eat this any more than I would want to eat dog poop.  I did not understand what was going on at the time, but for the first time in my life I was not willing to eat anything that moved. 

After that, the Spirit of Truth led me to move to Tulsa and go to school to learn to be a computer programmer.

In order to do that, the Spirit of Truth told me to create a weekly schedule and stick to it.  So, I created a schedule for each day of the week that had times for sleeping, eating, studying, working, spending time with my family, praying, and going to church.

When I got to Sunday, there was a four hour gap between lunch after the morning service and dinner before the evening service.  I started to write "study" in that space when the Spirit of Truth told me not to do so.  I asked what I should write instead.  The Spirit of Truth said, "sleep".

This was very contrary to my nature.  I had been working seven days a week, sometimes more than sixteen hours a day, for years.  I was constantly busy doing something.  Until 1988 AD, I had not been able to stand sleeping more than four hours per night.  However, I wrote "sleep" as instructed in that space on the schedule.  I then stuck to the schedule as instructed.

So every Sunday, I was devoting the entire day to worshiping the Father of Truth and resting.  I had returned to giving the Father of Truth one day a week as my grandfather had taught me as a child.

The Spirit of Truth also instructed me to attend a particular church in Broken Arrow.  This church supported a world famous ministry school started by the same preacher who had laid hands on me seven years earlier.

I learned how to be a better husband and father there.  I learned how to hear the Spirit of Truth even more clearly there.  I learned how to more effectively operate in the gifts of the Spirit of Truth there.  I learned many other valuable things there that have helped me fulfill my role in expanding the kingdom of the Man of Truth on this Earth.

The church there used the celebration of Easter, Halloween, and Christmas as a means to tell people about the Man of Truth.  Since I had not learned of anything better that the Father of Truth had provided to replace these holidays, I decided to do the same with my family.

Also, I began watching Christian television channels soon after I moved to Tulsa.  A show called "Jewish Voice" grabbed my attention, along with another show called "Zola Levitt Presents".  These shows told me about the Jewish roots of Christianity.  Many things in the Book of Truth now made more sense to me.

So, by the time my second daughter, the Impossible Girl, was born in 1993 AD, things were significantly different than when I had first come into the House of Truth.

I was operating more in the gifts of the Spirit, listening only to Christian music, reading the entire Book of Truth and working only six days a week.

I also went to church and rested on Sunday, no longer ate everything that moved, became aware of the connection between my faith and the Jewish people, and celebrated the holidays that I grew up in a way that was very focused on the Man of Truth.

Step 5:  Connected with the Jewish People

In 1995 AD, we learned that Savannah had cystic fibrosis and five other fatal medical conditions.  (Fatal as far as medical science was concerned, but not fatal as far as the Father of Truth was concerned.)

As far as the doctors were concerned these conditions were 100% fatal with no hope of a cure from medical science.  In fact, a research doctor asked me over the phone why Savannah was not already dead from one of her conditions.  She did not like my answer that the Man of Truth was why.

However, the Spirit of Truth told me that Savannah was going to be healed, but there would be a Jewish connection.  Needless to say, my interest in all things Jewish skyrocketed.

So, I began making a greater effort to learn about the Jewish roots of my faith.  I began engaging in instant messenger chat rooms with Rabbis in Israel to learn more about Jewish things.

During these conversations, I also told them about the identity of the Messiah.  These conversations prompted me to start teaching myself to read, write, and speak Hebrew.

The Spirit of Truth also led me to make a bold move and leave my secure job working for the college where I was vested.  (About the only way to be fired was to do something criminal.)  Instead, I was to go into the wild world of contracting.

While contracting, I met with other believers who were interested in what I had learned up to that point about the Book of Truth.  Our discussions only served to sharpen my understanding of the Book of Truth from a Jewish perspective.

Between those discussions, the Jewish television shows that I watched on Christian television, my discussions with the Rabbis and my own study of Jewish customs, I began to see the world and the Word of Truth through Jewish eyes.

All during this time, I kept having experiences like I had experienced with the barbecued bunny.   Other things that were called filth in the Law of Truth, but I had been eating anyways, became as disgusting to me as eating dog poop.  I stopped eating them one by one, until the only thing left was pork.

In fact, I got where I did not really like pork either by 1998 AD, but the bad taste could be covered up with lots of sugar and spice - especially bacon!  Also, compared to beef, it was cheap.

Finally, I got into an argument while camping with a friend over my right to eat pork.  After four hours of arguing he said, that I was probably so combative about this, because the Spirit of Truth was dealing with me about it.

When I woke up the next morning and smelled the little smokies that were cooking, I almost vomited.  To this day, the smell of pork makes me feel sick.  That was the end of my eating everything that moves.

Not long after that, I got a Sky Angel satellite system.  This gave me access to many more Christian television shows including more shows about all things Jewish and how they applied to my faith.

My wife also learned about ShalomFest and Festival Israel.  These were Jewish cultural events in Tulsa.

So we went and I was like a kid going to Disney World!  I got to sit in a demonstration synagogue service, talk to Jewish people about the Book of Truth, ask questions of the Rabbis, eat Israeli food, and buy Jewish items made in Israel!  My favorite part was a giant map of Israel that they allowed me to walk on and explain the history of Israel to other people!

In 2000 AD, the contracting market in Tulsa dried up.  I found myself unemployed in a market with no real job prospects.  I suddenly had more time to apply myself to further study of the Book of Truth and seek after the Father of Truth.

Not long after that, applying what I had learned led to me leaving that church and start searching for a new congregation.

During my search for a new congregation, I visited a few Sabbath observant congregations, but there was something not right about them that I could not put my finger on at the time.

One of the problems was, that I had three verses in the Renewed Covenant, which seemed to indicate that we were supposed to meet on Sunday instead of Saturday.  When I asked their leaders and members of these congregations to show me from the Renewed Covenant why this was wrong, they could not do so.  Their answers amounted to either their tradition or someone else said so.

Shortly after school started, my daughter Miranda came to me and told me that she was so worn out by Friday night that she could not study.  When she felt less tired on Sunday, she could not study because that was our day of rest.  So, she wanted to know if we could change our day of rest to Friday night to Saturday night.

I paused for a minute, prayed about it, the Spirit of Truth did not object, so I said yes.  Just like that, we began resting on the Sabbath.

Shortly after that, I got an unsolicited job offer and took it.  I started a Bible study in my new workplace, which only served to sharpen my understanding of the Jewish connection to my faith even more.

Shortly after that, my wife saw an advertisement for a new church that was starting up in a school cafeteria.  We went there on their very first service and immediately knew that this was our new church home.

So, by the time I had a new career, and a new church home in 2000 AD, things were very different than they had been seven years earlier.

I continued to operate in the gifts of the Spirit, read the entire Book of Truth, listen to only Christian music, work only six days a week, and only ate food that the Book of Truth calls clean.

I now rested on the Sabbath and went to church on Sunday, had became connected to the Jewish people, and still celebrated the religious holidays that I grew up in a way that was very focused on the Man of Truth.

Step 6:  Celebrated Biblical Holidays

Right from the beginning, we started applying what we had learned at the previous church to help our new church grow from the thirty-five people that were there on that first Sunday.

The pastor of the new church made a time to pray for the sick in our services.  He allowed me to lay hands on people with him and one other member.

It was evident that I was supposed to go to this church that was meeting in a school cafeteria on Sunday mornings.  Since this was the case, I decided to spend about eight hours over the Sabbath praying in tongues to be more effective when I prayed for the sick on Sunday.

This made a huge difference.  We were having frequent instant healings.  This included at least one case of cancer.  According to the man healed from cancer, it felt like fire went out of my hands and burned all the cancer out of his body.

Needless to say, our congregation grew to over seven hundred members in the first year.  We found ourselves needing a bigger venue.

Then in 2002 AD, my wife told me about a Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot) celebration sponsored by a local church.  I was overwhelmed with joy to go to this.  I had read about this celebration in Israel in the Jerusalem Post, but had not expected one in Oklahoma.  This was better than a trip to Disney Land for me.

While I was there, I learned that the Man of Truth celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2-11).  Most surprising of all, I learned that it's not just a Jewish thing to celebrate this or any of the Feasts of Truth.  I learned that many of the Children of Truth had began celebrating these holidays.

So, I took part in my first celebration of one of the Feasts of Truth.  I still have the tee-shirt.

Not long after that, I read that the Man of Truth celebrated Chanukah in the Renewed Covenant (John 10:22-23).  So, I found how American Jews celebrate this holiday today. 

I then celebrated my first Chanukah with my first present being a town of Bethlehem display that my wife wanted to set up at Christmas.

Then in 2003 AD, my family celebrated our first Passover (Pesach) with a Jewish couple that went to our church.  We used a Hagaddah that I had made, based on research over the internet, since I did not have time to order one.

My wife had been right.  The Father of Truth did provide better holidays than the ones that I had grown up with.

Still, we continued to celebrate the religious holidays that I grew up in a way that was very focused on the Man of Truth.

So, by early 2003 AD, there was another major change in how we lived our lives.

I continued to operate in the gifts of the Spirit, read the entire Book of Truth, listen to only Christian music, work only six days a week, and only ate food that the Book of Truth calls clean.

I now rested on the Sabbath and went to church on Sunday, had became more connected to the Jewish people, celebrated the Biblical holidays using the traditions of American Jews, but also celebrated the religious holidays that I grew up in a way that was very focused on the Man of Truth.

Step 7: Committed To Walking In Truth

Later in 2003, I watched "The Gospel of John".  I was shaken to my core and could barely drive home from the theater.

I was later given this movie as a gift for my birthday.  After watching it several more times, I understood why this movie disturbed me so much.  This movie made it very plain that the Man of Truth always told the truth.

I simply was not living up to that standard, but was convicted that I needed to start doing so.  So, I started examining everything in my life to make sure that I was walking in truth.  This included what holidays we celebrated and how.

I began changing how I celebrated the Biblical holidays. 

Eating fried food every meal for all eight days of Chanukah had led to me having high cholesterol for the first time in my life.   So, I decided to make food that reflected the ethnic groups associated for some holidays.

I did this because the Book of Truth said that people were to observe Passover like they were personally there in Egypt (Exodus 13:3-8).

So, I started researching food eaten during holidays associated with ancient empires.  I began cooking Persian food for Purim, Egyptian food for Passover, and Greek food for Chanukah.

At the same time, I continued to work with our pastor in various ways to grow the church, including continuing to pray for the sick.  This continued until a tragic car accident injured the wife of the district supervisor severely.  He had to step down from his position to take care of her.

The new supervisor immediately put an end to anyone, except the pastor, laying hands on the sick.  Soon, the phenomenal growth of our congregation came to an end.

This was also the end of my trying to spend eight hours every Sabbath praying in tongues.  Instead, I used that time to study the Book of Truth more deeply.  I also continued to learn more about Jewish practices from both the Book of Truth and Jews.

Eventually, the members of our congregation began doubting that the gifts of the Spirit of Truth were in operation today, despite the notable miracles and many other healings that had happened in their midst.  It became apparent that miracles do not cure unbelief.

The root of the problem was that these healings and miracles had served as witnesses to the truth of what I was teaching about praying in tongues and the Jewish connection to Christianity.  These doctrines were directly at odds with the official doctrine of the domination of that church.

Soon, their refusal to even examine the Book of Truth to see if what I said was true, grieved the Spirit of Truth.  The gifts of the Spirit of Truth stopped operating in their midst.

Then in 2006 AD, my wife told me about a traveling exhibit called "Abraham to Jesus" that was coming to Tulsa.

Of course, we went and I got see all kinds of artifacts from Israel there, including a part of a Dead Sea Scroll.  This exhibit provided overwhelming evidence that everything that the Book of Truth said about the Jewish people was true and that the Man of Truth was definitely Jewish in every possible sense.

Then in 2007 AD, my wife told me about a musical called "The Covenant: The Story of My People". 

Of course, we went to that as well.  This musical really brought out that the Man of Truth was first and foremost the Messiah of Israel.

By this time, I was dreaming in Hebrew as well as Greek.  Sometimes both languages were combined in my dreams into a language that I called, "Grebrew".

It had gotten to the point, that Jewish people I met at Jewish events thought that I had grown up attending synagogue services and celebrating Jewish holidays.  I could see the world through their eyes.  I was completely assimilated into the Jewish people.

So, by the end of 2007 AD,  I continued to operate in the gifts of the Spirit, read the entire Book of Truth, listen to only Christian music, work only six days a week, only ate food that the Book of Truth calls clean, and was completely assimilated into the Jewish people.

I continued to rest on the Sabbath and went to church on Sunday, celebrate the Biblical holidays using the traditions of American Jews, and also celebrated the religious holidays that I grew up in a way that was very focused on the Man of Truth.

Step 8: Wrote a timeline

However, major changes came in 2008 AD.

My employer laid off everyone in my project.  I was offered another position, but it would require me to live in Washington D.C.  This was unworkable for taking care of Savannah, so I took the severance package instead.

Since I had so much time freed up, I also started working on my timeline of the Apostolic Age.  I put in order every event from Acts chapter 1 to Revelation chapter 3.

Since the dates on this timeline depended upon the date of the resurrection of the Man of Truth, I also worked out the framework for a timeline of the Gospel Age.  This covered all of the events from the birth of the Man of Truth until the time of his ascension.

During this process, I soon found that the world of first century Christianity laid out in the Renewed Covenant, was very different than the version that was taught by most religious professionals.

The first century church met in the Temple, synagogues, and the homes of congregants.

Paul the Jew (Shaul aka Saul aka the Apostle Paul) always went to the Jews first, then the Gentiles that already worshiped the Father of Truth, and then finally the rest of the Gentiles.  Paul the Jew went to Jerusalem for the Feasts of Truth (Acts 18:18-21).  Paul the Jew continued to obey the Law of Truth, and did not teach Jews to do otherwise (Acts 21:20-26).

Paul the Jew also taught the congregations that he had started, to observe things like Pesach (Passover) (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).  This was even true of mostly Gentile congregations like the Ephesians (1 Corinthians 16:8).

I also learned that the first century Christians also observed the Feasts of Truth in very different ways than the way taught by the Rabbis.  It became apparent that the Rabbis are liars. 

I had learned that the Children of Truth were to avoid the doctrine of the Rabbis (Matthew 16:6-12).  (Rabbinical  Judaism came from the Pharisees.)  We were not to call anyone other than the Man of Truth, "Rabbi" (Matthew 23:8).

So, I could finally put my finger on what was wrong with those congregations that I had visited, which met on the Sabbath.  They were rebelling against these commandments of the Man of Truth! 

It was time for a fresh look at the customs that I had learned from American Jews.  I wanted to be sure that everything I did was in line with the Book of Truth.  I started making some changes.

Shortly after that, our pastor left to be head pastor of a larger church in Florida.  I continued to go to the same church and helping the new pastor. 

Eventually, I got a job working at a start up.  This slowed down my studies, but did not end them.

Then the new pastor began to introduce some new things to our congregation, like using candles during worship and the observation of Ash Wednesday.

This bothered me as I had started seeing new problems with the holidays that I had grown up with, even though we celebrated them in a way that was very focused on the Man of Truth.

In my studies, I had learned that Father of Truth does not want the Children of Truth to worship him using the same customs that idol worshipers used (Deuteronomy 12:29-31).   However, this was exactly what we were doing when we observed the customs of Easter, Halloween, and Christmas in a way that was very focused on the Man of Truth.

Then in 2011 AD, I was at a church Bible study watching a teaching video.  When the video was over, the pastor asked us each to tell what we thought of the video, one at a time.

When it was my turn, I told him that I saw several serious problems with what was taught on the video.  I then calmly proceeded to explain the conflicts between what the video taught and what was written in the Book of Truth.

The pastor exploded in anger.  Soon, I was angry also.  So, I left.

The next day the pastor had another member ask me not to come back, if I could not go along to get along.  The pastor was not willing to examine the Book of Truth to see what I said was true.  So, I chose to not to return, rather than compromise on what the Book of Truth said.

So, I was kicked out of a church that I had helped start because I refused to not walk in truth.

Not long after that, the start up that I worked for went out of business in 2011 AD.  I was once again able to devote more time to writing my timeline.

During this process, I was researching about the connection between Christmas trees and Babylonian sun god worship.  In the process, I learned that yarmulkes were first worn by Egyptians, who had adopted the custom of rounding the corners of their heads from Babylonian sun worship.  So, my Christmas tree and my yarmulke both left my house on the same day.

At that time, I began heeding the warning of the Mensch who killed Christmas.  I would be saying "Happy Firstfruits", instead of  "Happy Easter" from now on.

Shortly after that, I got stuck when working on my timeline.  I knew that Paul the Jew needed five days for him to make the journey to his next destination.  The problem was that when he left after the weekly congregational meeting on Sunday, there was only four days for him to make the journey.

I started looking for where I had went wrong in my calculations.  Finally I got very  frustrated and cried out for the Father of Truth to help me.  Then just like he was standing behind me, I heard the Man of Truth say, "that is because they met on Saturday instead of on Sunday".

I sat there in shock.  Then I questioned out loud, "What about my three verses in the Renewed Covenant, which seemed to indicate that the Gentiles had met on Sunday instead of Saturday?".

The Spirit of Truth then guided me through each verse to show me that each of them referred to the Sabbath on Saturday, instead of Sunday.  Once I knew who changed the Sabbath, I was determined to find a congregation that met on the Sabbath - if I could find one that did not try to mix the doctrine of the Book of Truth with the doctrine of the Rabbis.

This proved to be a very frustrating experience.  I was living in the buckle of the Bible Belt, but it was really hard to find anyone else who was willing to put the Man of Truth in front of everything else.  I felt like I was drowning in a lukewarm sea.

Eventually, the Father of Truth told me to stop whining and to fight back by writing this blog.

After I had visited many congregations that met on the Sabbath, I was about ready to try to figure out something else.  However, the Spirit of Truth had me do a strange search on the internet.  The results showed where a congregation met at a residential address.

When we arrived, we found a house.  When we got out, we were directed to a small church that the owner had build behind his house.  We found our new pastor to be a Jim among men.  This was what we were looking for.

So, by 2012, about thirty years after I first came into the House of Truth, I operated in the gifts of the Spirit of Truth, read the entire Book of Truth (The Bible), listened to only Christian music, worked only six days a week, only ate food that the Book of Truth calls clean, had assimilated into the Jewish people, went to church and rested on the Sabbath, and only celebrated religious holidays like Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles - without Rabbinic distort.

The conclusion of the matter:

My eight step journey took thirty years because I had to overcome a lot of opposition by religious professionals.  It would have needed many less steps and could have been done in a year, if I had found a pastor who would teach things correctly out of the Book of the Truth in the first place.

Instead, I had to learn how to read Greek and Hebrew for myself, and then spend many hours of study to find out what the Apostles of Truth actually taught.  This was the only way that I could separate the doctrine of truth from the doctrine of lies.

This is because over the centuries, religious professionals had made one small change after another, until the original doctrine and practices of Christianity became completely obscured.  This has led to the great deception that is needed to bring the Man of Lies (The Antichrist aka The Beast) into power.

Also, real change takes time.  It is not as simple as education.  There are two kinds of knowledge, and heart knowledge is usually harder to acquire than head knowledge.  My steps were ordered by the Father of Truth to bring about real change in my life (Psalm 37:23).

As important as these changes have been in making me more like the Man of Truth, I am not anymore saved because I made them.  I am saved because what he did on the cross.  My only part in becoming one of the chosen few was answering the call when he gave it.  I was saved by faith, but grew by knowledge. 

Your steps will probably not be the same as my steps, but the Spirit of Truth will lead you to where you need to be step by step, if you are willing to follow. 

So, in this new year and new decade that starts in 2020 AD, make a real commitment to follow the leading of the Spirit of Truth.  If you find yourself falling down, then pick yourself up and try again (Proverbs 24:16).  You might have to make many adjustments, but you will arrive at your destination if you do not quit.  After all, it is how you end that matters.

After all, real change usually comes step by step.

However, the first step to real change is the same for everyone - come into the House of Truth.  You do not have to make any changes before you take this step.  The important thing is that you make this first step - right where you are at right now.  After all, you have to start somewhere.

So, let today be a time to start over for you.  After all, this is a resolution that you can keep in this new year and new decade.

You will be led by the Spirit of Truth, if you come into the House of Truth (Romans 8:14).  All you need to do is to make a commitment to obey the Man of Truth in everything, because you believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).  After that, the Father of Truth will give you both the desire and the ability to make the real changes needed to carry out His will (Philippians 2:13).  If you do not quit, then you will become more and more like the Man of Truth, step by step (Philippians 3:13-15).

Come into the House of Truth