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What is Truth?
Inside this issue: What is Truth?
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Roles that Fit
3
By Jaque Shank
What an adventure! I’ve reHow Can I Pray? Thoughts on D.A.R.C.
6 7
Online Class Update
8
Philosophy of the D.A.R.C.
9
cently begun mentoring a gal whom I
never got off the ground because they
had the privilege of leading to the Lord.
did not put first things first. Jesus said,
Initially she approached me saying, “I
“You shall know the truth and the truth
know nothing about the Bible; will you
shall set you free.” Isn’t freedom what
meet with me?” I was thrilled. After she
Jesus paid for? And doesn’t He imply
received Christ I could hardly wait to
that freedom comes from knowing the
help her build a foundation that would
truth? So what is truth?
enable her to leap into her new life with
Quarterly Quotes If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair. C.S. L EWIS Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions. G.K . C HESTERTON Men in our own sociologically and psychologically oriented age have all kinds of explanations for the moral problems of man. But according to the Bible, it is not moral declension that causes doctrinal declension; it is just the opposite. Turning away from the truth -- that which is cognitive, that which may be known about God -- produces moral declension. F RANCIS S C HAEFFER Controversy for the sake of controversy is sin. Controversy for the sake of truth is a divine command. W ALTER R. M ARTIN
Christians cover the globe whose faith
A resource, The Truth Project,
abandon!
produced by Focus on the Family, re-
These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words, words to build a life on. "If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss." LUKE 6:47-49 (THE MESSAGE)
cently became available, so I invited my
I feel strongly that the first priority of those assisting new believers is to teach them to lay a foundation in truth so when the storms come their lives won’t topple like a house of cards. I wonder how many Biblically illiterate
new friend to go through it with me. The first lesson asks the question: Why did Jesus come? Students on the DVD gave several answers: he came to save us, he came to redeem us, he came to forgive us of our sins, he came to die for our sins, and so on. Then Jesus was asked to speak for Himself: Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." JOHN 18:37 (NIV) So truth was on trial and Someone came to testify in its behalf. Two world views were at war with each other—the Truth claims of God and the Lie claims of Satan. The Truth said,
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What is Truth?, cont. “Don’t eat of it or you will die…” but the Lie countered with, “Did God really say?” (See Genesis 3). The basis for truth is the existence of God. We who say we believe in God must ask ourselves if we really believe He exists, and then understand the implications of our answer. Our actions either betray or confirm what we really believe about the truth; they either betray or confirm our freedom. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me…we are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. 1 JOHN 4:6 (NASB) First and foremost everyone who believes God exists listens to truth; Jesus—the testifier and the testimony itself. Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. JOHN 14:6 (NIV) How can we know the truth unless we listen to Jesus? How can we experience His existence unless we not only listen to, but do what He says? Every time I think of Him I can’t help but remember the personal, intimate and risky relationship He is calling all believers to enter. How will we know and maintain our knowing that we know that we know how real God is until we listen to Him, hear what He has to say, obey His instructions, and so prove by our actions that God is God and the truth is truth? How will our knowing set us free unless we put all our weight on the truth to see if it works? How can we know unless we are willing to face and release every lie we’ve ever believed, staking everything we’ve ever trusted in on Jesus Christ? The truth makes many claims, but for the sake of this short article I’m going to affirm one: the truth works. It’s proven itself time and again since I took it upon myself to first build my own life on God’s true foundation; Jesus Christ. It has never failed me, no, not once. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. HEBREWS 11:6 (NKJV)
When the Word dwells as a familiar friend in the heart to direct, counsel and comfort us, then it is a sign it abides there. The devil knows good and hates it, therefore knowledge alone is nothing; but when the promise alters the temper of the heart itself, then it is engrafted there. RICHARD SIBBES
Those who are readiest to trust God without other evidence than His Word always receive the greatest number of visible evidences of His love. CHARLES C. G. TRUMBULL
God's Word is pure and sure, in spite of the devil, in spite of your fear, in spite of everything.
God's word is: supernatural in origin; eternal in duration; inexpressible in valour; infinite in scope; regenerative in power; infallible in authority; universal in application; inspired in totality. Read it through, write it down; pray it in; work it out; pass it on. The word of God changes a man until he becomes an Epistle of God.
R. A. TORREY
SMITH WIGGLESWORTH
Read whatever chapter of scripture you will, and be ever so delighted with it - yet it will leave you as poor, as empty and unchanged as it found you unless it has turned you wholly and solely to the Spirit of God, and brought you into full union with and dependence upon him.
It is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience they are not the better for having heard the truth. The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and centre of their hearts.
WILLIAM LAW
Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; the book widens and deepens with our years. CHARLES HADDON SPURGEON
A. W. TOZER
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Roles that
Fit
requires their stewardship. If we
jobs based on pay scale—leaving
spend our life on endeavors that
little time for enjoyment.
have no real value to who Christ is in us then we will never taste the joy we’re meant to savor.
By:
Susan Mucklow
When we try to conform to others we appear awkward. Functioning in roles that are not meant for us exhausts energy and dulls the heart’s desire for those things that are meant for us. If we feel depleted at the end of a day it may indicate a need to align our lives with our true vocation. Our true vocation is clarified as we hear His voice and bravely respond to His cue. To walk in His way is to walk in awareness of who He is in us. It is a process of defin-
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Not all are mis-aligned. Some found the way to their heart’s desire and live well-balanced lives.
Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not
But many others are still out of
satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live.
create the strain that is meant to
ISAIAH 55:2-3 (NIV)
the shifts that will effect much
It is easy to admit when we spend money then find we have nothing of real value to show for it. Can we be equally honest about how we spend life? Is too much time spent on that which does not
place; this is good because it will bring us to our knees. I pray we become painfully aware of our dissatisfaction so that we will yield to the Lord’s challenge and witness change. Functioning as God created us to function not only makes our life better but it improves the lives of those who have now been pushed a little closer to their true vocation as a result of our move.
satisfy? Why do we fail to notice
There were times in my life
the longing in our heart or sup-
when I felt I was doing the work of
press our true being? The vision of
three or four people. Then my
who we are is to be cultivated.
world shook violently and I fell out
How much vitality is spent on
of place...but I landed in my own
things that do not reflect God’s
space! I am no longer compelled to
unique purpose in us? We could be
do that which others are meant to
healthier and happier on less in-
do, but many still are. To carry a
come if it meant more life. The
load (often at the cost of home life)
How is your energy account?
same is true for activity - we may
and act like things are under con-
Are you energized at the end of the
need to slow down in order to find
trol only blocks the true view. Oth-
day? Or do you feel overdrawn?
out what means the most.
ers look on and assume that no
ing and redefining. Lucidity often comes when our circumstances are stirred. When circumstances are provoked shifts occur. These shifts make crooked places straight. He straightens the path and it gets easier to know where our ‘yes and no’ belong.
Does it feel like funds were misappropriated? Is your enthusiasm level taxed? We waste energy on crooked paths. A crooked path is a path not our own. Not every path is ours to take - even if it’s a good path - just like every pretty trinket is not ours to buy. We learn to discern the things in life that bear our name. Time and energy are great commodities and quality of life
To surrender and trust God with our lives is always a great need. Have we become a slave to world or religion? Do we work to
help is needed. Bitterness over the lack of help may take root but we are in the way of receiving our own help.
hold an image of what others call
Here’s an illustration. A cloth-
success? Why is our nose to the
ing store displays properly fitted
grindstone? Is it to silence the
garments on mannequins. Why?
flesh as we busy ourselves so we
Because clothes that don’t fit are
don't feel the hollow? Excess and
not appealing. If the clothes are
debt means long hours or taking
too big or too small for the frame
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cont.
it’s hard for customers to imagine
Would this fresh obedience bring
When we are finally aligned
themselves wearing that garment.
new life to our energy and sustain
with who God’s made us to be then
Likewise, if we wear roles that are
our passion? Who knows, we may
we can give without effort. We
not made for us then those roles
even enter His rest—although it
have an abundant supply to minis-
look unappealing, making it diffi-
may look different than what
ter to the needs of mankind when
cult for others to imagine them-
we’ve imagined! We may be more
we find our proper place in Him -
selves in that role. They cannot
active, but far less tired!
which is our proper place in this
even recognize their own role because we are wearing it so badly!
Repositioning into roles that fit us will help us see the fullness of
We think if we don’t do certain
His love for us. He wants to lead
things nobody else will. A false
us to a quality of life that is beyond
need for approval or control makes
our limiting beliefs. We’re walking
us pick up other people’s slack. It
and working as if life depended on
can become compulsive and obses-
us. He wants to prove to us that it
sive behavior. We don’t believe
does not. He wants us to know our
God will maneuver people into
own inner design, to become the
position in time to keep things roll-
servants of His choosing so our
ing. The grace that would deliver
disposition can reflect His glory.
us is missed when we don’t step back, sit down, say no, and wait with patience for the help that is on its way. In Isaiah 55 the Lord says, "This plan of mine is not what you would work out, neither are my thoughts the same as yours! For just as the heavens are higher than the
Disposition: the way something is positioned; how temperament is bestowed; the usual manner of response, habitual tendency or inclination; the inner arrangement or placement of one’s humor that causes a natural willingness or responsiveness. In fellowship with Him we
earth, so are my ways higher than yours, and my thoughts than yours".
begin to recognize and appreciate
Could it be as simple as letting
the way He is positioned within us,
go? What would happen if we did
how our temperament is bestowed,
only those things we had the grace
and how the arrangement of our
to do with joy? What if we prac-
humor allows us to respond more
ticed saying “no thanks” to obliga-
naturally to one thing over an-
tion and people-pleasing and “yes
other. We love ourselves because
please” in response to Christ in us?
we see Him in His own design.
What if we were our true selves
This love reaches out to others.
without fear of poverty, compari-
When we are in the right vein we
son, or rejection? Would God sus-
can give sacrificially and yet our
tain us? Applaud us? Would we
energy account remains full.
know the joy of our salvation?
Who He is in us. We learn to value
world! It is much easier for a hand to tie a shoe lace than it is for an elbow—and the hand has fun doing it! It doesn’t have the frustrations of an elbow trying to accomplish this same feat. And the esteem of the elbow is lifted once it realizes it isn’t stupid - it’s just not a hand! Thank God for the elbows out there who are willing to try to tie shoe laces - but may they find the courage to stop so someone else can lend them a hand! Love gives us courage to be honest with ourselves and with each other. Love moves us into our proper positions. Love frees us from the fear of man. It gives us courage to try something new, walk a new path, explore new territory. And when love gives us this much freedom there is nothing we wouldn’t do for love. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain
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Roles that Fit, cont. nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not selfseeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.
whole person comes to life. Heads
thing down. We will experience a
turn to look at someone who was
great sigh of relief. As we take a
all but invisible before love entered
breath of fresh air the long-lost zest
their life.
for life will return. A sweet de-
God’s love makes it safe for us to take the risks we couldn’t take
posit will be made into our energy account.
while we were still afraid of disap-
Visionwriters may have a role
pointing people with our honest
to fit your frame. You may have
need to change positions. I am sure
time and energy to spend here or
1 CORINTHIANS 13:1-8 (NIV)
there are roles that we still wear
financial resources to advance our
Christ aligns our heart with
that we know will never fit our
mission. What is your role? We
His love. Hearing His voice breaks
frame. And then there are the roles
may have elbows waiting for a
up our fallow ground so we can
that feel like they don’t fit but the
hand. Some have shed roles that
receive His seeds of love. When
Lord assures us they are ours to
no longer fit so you can imagine
we know we’re loved we love in
grow into. We know the difference
how lovely they will look on you!
return. Love can make a barren
as we start moving toward hon-
Your love for this ministry and the
womb give life. It takes a mere
esty. Let’s take a step, throw a
confidence to name the role that
shell of a man or a woman and
stone, do something different. Re-
fits your frame will be delightful.
transforms them into radiance.
positioning needs to occur. Let’s
You are God’s promise and we
Love sparks the heart and the
pick something up or lay some-
welcome you!
Past grace is glorified by intense and joyful gratitude. Future grace is glorified by intense and joyful confidence. This faith is what frees us and empowers us for venturesome obedience in the cause of Christ. J O H N P IPER It is thy duty oftentimes to do what thou wouldst not; thy duty to leave undone what thou wouldst do. T HO MA S A K EMPIS Never think to find honey in the pot when God writes poison on the cover. W ILLIA M G U RNA LL To find out what one is fitted to do, and to secure an opportunity to do it, is the key to happiness. J O H N D EWEY When we learn to say a deep, passionate yes to the things that really matter then peace begins to settle onto our lives like golden sunlight sifting to a forest floor. T HO MA S K INK A D E If the Lord sets you to guard a lonely post in perfect stillness from all active work, you ought to be just as content as to be in the midst of the active warfare. It is no virtue to love the Master's work better than the Master's will. H A NNA H W HITA L L S MITH It is true that He does sometimes require of us things that to others seem hard. But when the will is once surrendered, the revolutionized life plans become just the plans that are most pleasant, and the things that to others seem hard, are just the things that are easiest and most delightful. Do not let Satan deceive you into being afraid of God's plans for your life. R. A. T ORREY
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How Can I Pray? Three Rules By Henri Nouwen A careful look at the lives of people for whom prayer was indeed “the only thing needed” (see Luke 10:42) shows that three "rules" are always observed: a contemplative reading of the word of God, a silent listening to the voice of God, and a trusting obedience to a spiritual guide. Without the Bible, without silent time, and without someone to direct us, finding our own way to God is very hard and practically impossible.
R EAD ING
THE
S CR IPT UR ES
In the first place, we have to pay careful attention to the word of God as it is written in the holy scriptures. St. Augustine was converted when he responded to the words of a child saying: "Take and read, take and read.” When he took the Bible and started reading the page on which he opened it, he felt that the words he read were directly spoken to him. To take the holy scriptures and read them is the first thing we have to do to open ourselves to God’s call. Reading the scriptures is not as easy as it seems since in our academic world we tend to make anything and everything we read subject to analysis and discussion. But the word of God should lead us first of all to contemplation and meditation. Instead of taking the words apart, we should bring them together in our innermost being; instead of wondering if we agree or disagree, we should wonder which words are directly spoken to us and connect directly with our most personal story. Instead of thinking about the words as potential subjects for an interesting dialogue or paper, we should be willing to let them penetrate into the most hidden corners of our heart, even to those places where no other word has yet found entrance. Then and only then can the word bear fruit as seed sown in rich soil. Only then can we really “hear and understand” (Matt. 13:23).
Q UIET T IM E
FOR
G OD
Secondly, we simply need quiet time in the presence of God. Although we want to make all our time time for God, we will never succeed if we do not reserve a minute, an hour, a morning, a day, a week, a month, or whatever period of time for God and God alone. This asks for much discipline and risk-taking because we always seem to have something more urgent to do and “just sitting there” and “doing nothing” often disturbs us more than it helps. But there is no way around this. Being useless and silent in the presence of our God belongs to the core of all prayer. In the beginning we often hear our own unruly inner noises more loudly than God’s voice. This is at times very hard to tolerate. But slowly, very slowly, we discover that the silent time makes us quiet and deepens our awareness of ourselves and God. Then, very soon, we start missing these moments when we are deprived of them, and before we are fully aware of it an inner momentum has developed that draws us more and more into silence and closer to that still point where God speaks to us. Contemplative reading of the holy scriptures and silent time in the presence of God belong closely together. The word of God draws us into silence; silence makes us attentive to God’s word.
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How to Pray, cont.
F IND ING
A
S PIR IT UAL G UID E
But word and silence both need guidance. How do we know that we are not deluding ourselves, that we are not selecting those words that best fit our passions, that we are not just listening to the voice of our own imagination? Many have quoted the scriptures and many have heard voices and seen visions in silence, but only few have found their way to God. Who can judge their own cases? Who can determine if their feelings and insights are leading them in the right direction? Our God is greater than our own heart and mind, and too easily we are tempted to make our heart’s desires and our mind’s speculations into the will of God. Therefore, we need a guide, a director, a counselor who helps us to distinguish between the voice of God and all the other voices coming from our own confusion or from dark powers far beyond our control. We need someone who encourages us when we are tempted to give it all up, to forgot it all, to just walk away in despair. We need someone who discourages us when we move too rashly in unclear directions or hurry proudly to a nebulous goal. We need someone who can suggest to us when to read and when to be silent, which words to reflect upon and what to do when silence creates much fear and little peace. Thus, the Bible, silence, and a spiritual director are three important guides in our search for our most personal way to enter into an intimate relationship with God. When we contemplate the scriptures continuously, set some time aside to be silent in the presence of our God, and are willing to submit our experiences with word and silence to a spiritual guide, we can keep ourselves from developing new illusions and open the way to the prayer of our heart.
Words are but the body, the garment, the outside of prayer; sighs are nearer the heart work.
When I bow to God, God stoops to me. Robert Chapman
A man prayed, and at first he thought that prayer was talking. But he became more quiet until in the end he realized that prayer is listening.
Samuel Rutherford
Soren Kierkegaard
Thoughts on DARC
Discipline is a key words at Visionwriters. It's the
By Sara McDaniel
points out in his book, discipline, like all of God’s
first word in our acronym DARC. But, as Colsen gifts is two-edged. It can be of great value when
I recently read a book called So You Don’t Want to Go To Church Anymore by Jake Colsen (a pen name for Wayne Jacobsen and Dave Coleman). A couple of points gave me some pause for thought—which tied in nicely with our DARC philosophy here at Visonwriters International. (For more information on the DARC from the website homepage click on: About VI/FAQs/What is the DARC?)
our eye is on the Treasure (Who is Christ), but it can also become a substitute for that treasure and can degenerate into obligation. We enter the discipline of our daily listening to God because we know it keeps our eye on our Treasure. There should never be satisfaction gained solely from completing tasks of what we feel we “should’ do, nor any guilt for not checking off the boxes and getting all the work done.
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Thoughts on DARC, cont. Accountability: another of our key words. We
stitute for living it.” This is a good warning for
must approach this correctly also. The Bible does-
those of us with the bent for teaching!
n’t specifically teach that we should be accountable to each other, but only to God. Accountability with God naturally flows into a desire to honor others and we help each other remain accountable to God when we are in true community.
Community: Colsen says, "Equip people to live in Him first; then you’ll see how He brings His body together. The church thrives where people are focused on Jesus, where a local group of people chooses to walk together for a part of the journey
Relationship: Sometimes we want to teach others
by cultivating close friendships and learning how
all we know, but it’s not about teaching it, it’s
to listen to God together." Visionwriters courses
about living it first and foremost. Relationships
are the perfect tool for fostering this type of com-
are built when people see how you live and grow
munity. I’ve seen it work over and over again and
to trust you. Colsen says, “Learn to live this life
you can too. You only need to find one other per-
and you’ll have no end of folk to share it with.
son to do this with you and God takes care of the
Teach it first, however and that will be your sub-
rest.
ONLINE CLASS UPDATE Recently eleven of us from all over the USA and overseas, led by our vivacious Visionkeeper, Bren Harris, participated in the online course Love the Only Diet There Is. This course deals with addictions and how to break their hold over us via a steady diet of God's love. On the online class forum students share insights and discuss the things that God reveals during the week. Here's an excerpt posted by Sara M. on week six of the course and a few snippets of feedback from students:
God has continued to talk to me this week about being trustingly faithful to Him and being thankful. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever trusts in me will never be thirsty. JOHN 6:35
I saw that as we come to eat His word, we have to also combine it with trust or we will still be thirsty. In my journal He said: 'Eating the food of my word and drinking the drink of trusting is a complete meal and will fill you and make you beautiful. This is a diet of love in solid and liquid form. My word is solid love and when you trust me you are showing your love for me in return in all you do and say. Solid fact and liquid action, and its all LOVE. You in me and I in you.' I also wanted to share this prayer that I received in my email inbox this morning: Gentle us, Holy One, into an unclenched moment, a deep breath, a letting go of heavy expectations, of shriveling anxieties, of dead certainties, that, softened by the silence surrounded by the light, and open to the mystery, we may be found by wholeness, upheld by the unfathomable, entranced by the simple, and filled with the joy that is you. Amen!
SNIPPETS FROM STUDENTS: Journalizing is a wonderful way to meet with the Lord. My logical, rational side of the brain is kept busy writing while my experiential right hemisphere is communing with the Lord! Afterwards I have a record of what God has spoken to me! (Georgia H.) Journalizing is one on one instruction from God. It is intimate and keeps me in tune with the Creator. I would definitely recommend the Love Diet class. It is probably my favorite and I think it is one of Jaque’s best teaching series. (Mike K.) I was expecting that the course would give me the discipline to focus on God’s word, the space to grow closer to him, and the opportunity to share & compare thoughts on what he was saying. These expectations were fulfilled. The course kept me more in touch with reality (in God’s terms), more focused on what really matters and it is my hope that God is able to use it to transform me more quickly into the person he intends me to be. To have the coached papers is such an encouragement; to have someone else who cares enough to spend the time taking an interest in my relationship with God and giving me feedback is a great blessing. (Jenny W.)
VISIONWRITERS INTERNATIONAL PO Box 2020 Edgewood, New Mexico 87015 Phone: 505-717-7100 E-mail: info@visionwriters.com Web Address: www.visionwriters.com
About Us Visionwriters is a mentoring program with a long-term vision or worldview; one that is committed to a long-term Gospel. Vision either determines victory, or its absence produces despair. God’s word imparts vision. Writing the vision helps us sort things out, for thoughts are untangled at the point of a pen. But writing isn’t enough if it falls short of application. We help people apply the truth, because truth without application is just information. When truth is applied it is powerful. We facilitate people who ache to hear the voice of Truth and experience a personal relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ ~ people who want to hear God’s voice and open their communication with God ~ those who want answers to their most perplexing questions ~ people ready to admit there is a hole inside and who want to overcome this inner loneliness. Journalizing, or Visionwriting, is taking dictation from the Holy Spirit. Because we want to understand God’s personal instructions, we write to capture, assimilate and obey them. You will learn how to hear God’s voice, have communication with God through a spiritual relation with Him. Through that spiritual relationship you will overcome loneliness.
Philosophy of the D.A.R.C. D = Discipline God’s discipline, sated with love, is our wake up call to righteousness. A renewed mind can’t grasp the revelation of righteousness alone; this revelation requires the heart to be awakened by the voice of His love. “Today if you will hear My voice…” (Hebrews 3:7-8). To hear with disciplined intent is to not only agree that God initiated a covenant with us, but to finally agree to fully and personally receive it. A long persistence in the right direction is required if we are going to ’see’ the place to which God calls us to abide. We write the vision out of our deep longing to “understand” and then “do” what we see our Father doing. A = Accountability Each one of us is accountable for our own personal relationship with God as we bear it in front of others. Because we genuinely want to read so we can run with the vision, we surrender to the Holy Spirit and He leads us to what helps us sort out our thoughts and let go of what isn’t true; then we can integrate what is true into our hearts and lives. Here we begin to learn the freedom of open and honest relationships. R = Relationship Our relationship with God is central to everything and everyone. It is intimate, up close, and personal. Therefore we are ready to explore ourselves the way God knows us and to drop human judgment in order to receive others and encourage them toward the recognition of all God knows them to be. We are “response-able” as we proclaim the truth—here as “selves for others.” C = Community We need one another; God made us that way. So community is the place all things finally make sense—where God’s promises are realized—where the corporate ache is filled. As we operate in union with Him we lose ourselves and get nothing less than our true selves back. This is when we begin to deeply experience our self-giving nature and where “the whole is defined by the sum of its parts.”