tag:therealpaisley.com,2005:/blogs/leading-horses-blog-295adc72-07f8-47be-b8fd-ff76fde2ca85?p=2Leading Horses (Blog)2022-04-17T17:43:18-07:00Paisley Yankolovichfalsetag:therealpaisley.com,2005:Post/60481422011-06-30T17:00:00-07:002012-04-02T07:43:18-07:00Leading horses, one by one...
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<p>I know, we’re usually referred to as sheep and the horse thing is left to the alleged stubborn among us-”You can lead a horse to water…” But don’t we tend to be more like the horse who thinks drinking is overrated than the sweet, docile, obedient sheep Jesus addressed?</p>
<p>More often than not, I’m afraid. In fact, I am convinced we are lovingly lead by the Holy Spirit to perfect pastures of encouragement, education and edification but we simply choose to ignore them. Our flesh and its inherent sin rebels to such a degree that we starve ourselves blessings, peace, hope, joy, power and fellowship with Jesus.</p>
<p>I hate when a whole day goes by and I have not bothered to pray. To think of the level of commitment I’ve made to God and yet I mange to completely forget that He is there is sadly ironic and supremely pathetic.</p>
<p>Don’t follow me, I’m lost too,</p>
<p>I hate when a whole day goes by and I don’t take a peek at my Bible. Jesus emphasized the needed sustenance of God’s word and I preach the stuff yet even still I’m distracted by “other things.” Shame on me!</p>
<p>I don’t think anything I say or do causes me to question the validity of my love for Jesus than my outright avoidance of Him. And I’m not alone. While we sit around and wonder why “they” don’t ever call. (Our lovers, our kids, the job we’re hoping to get, etc…) do we ever consider what it’ like to be God?</p>
<p>Talk about sitting around waiting for “them” to call! What a cruel fate to create man and be at his mercy for love and attention.</p>
<p>How about a simple solution. How about stopping what we’re doing right now and check in with The Big Guy. We can make it an impromptu holiday of sorts. Let’s make this a Father’s Day and contact our daddy in heaven, wash ourselves in His word, bask in His presence and create some system to remind ourselves to do it again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and…</p>
<p>What could be sweeter than that?</p>
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Paisley Yankolovichtag:therealpaisley.com,2005:Post/60481412011-06-29T17:00:00-07:002012-04-02T07:43:36-07:00I think I'm gonna be sad...
<p>An Austrian weightlifter</p>
<p>Became an American movie star</p>
<p>Married into political royalty</p>
<p>Became Governor of California</p>
<p>Became a spokesperson for morality</p>
<p>Fought to control legislature</p>
<p>Won a few battles for his cause</p>
<p>Finished his term</p>
<p>Is going through a very public divorce</p>
<p>I think I’m gonna be sad</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I think I’m gonna be sad</p>
<p>I was working as an actor</p>
<p>On a film with a huge movie star</p>
<p>A weightlifter from Austria</p>
<p>A recently married guy</p>
<p>Who couldn’t leave the girls alone</p>
<p>Even got their phone numbers</p>
<p>Even…</p>
<p>His wife was so pretty</p>
<p>And her family was political royalty</p>
<p>Everybody knew what he was doing</p>
<p>And said nothing</p>
<p>I think I’m gonna be sick</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I think I’m gonna be sick</p>
<p>We give a man a voice</p>
<p>And the freedom to use it</p>
<p>He speaks out against queers</p>
<p>He speaks out against minorities</p>
<p>He speaks out against anyone who uses the system</p>
<p>But he uses it just fine</p>
<p>And there was talk about changing the constitution for him!</p>
<p>So he could be our fearless leader!</p>
<p>I think I’m gonna be sick</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And sad</p>
Paisley Yankolovichtag:therealpaisley.com,2005:Post/60481402011-06-28T17:00:00-07:002022-04-17T17:43:18-07:00He's got the whole world in His hands...
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<p>Ok I like the song. Heck, I even recorded a version of it. An ironic, irreverent version with background loops from a band called Christian Death (look em up on Google and you’ll see how far I’m comfortable stretching irony). But I’m well aware that there is no scripture happening here.</p>
<p>Let me explain. The closest scripture I could find for this blog is Psalm 24:1 (The earth is the Lord’s and all its fullness). This actually addresses that God has a plan of redemption to once and for all subdue the earth of its satanic influence. I think that is at the core of the song but rarely in the mind of its singers.</p>
<p>Folks bellow, “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands” like God is in control of everything. To quote another popular tune, “Wouldn’t It Be Nice?” Bette Midler had a hit with a song that promised, “God is watching us From A Distance.” Love Bette. Hated the song. It struck me as so, uh, Jewish. Sorry guys, but as a Jew I was always taught God existed but He lived somewhere far away and was watching us but not intervening.</p>
<p>“From A Distance” also was meant as an inspirational spiritual ditty that encourages us to believe that God is in control so that no matter what happens, it’s all good in the end. I don’t think that is universally so and Christians who fall into this trap are a threat to many who might come to the Lord if they had some good old-fashioned, healthy fear of what God might do if…</p>
<p>Proverbs 9:10 (The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom) is also often misquoted. Yes the fear mentioned is a form of respect, the kind of the highest order but it is also fear, my friends. It is wise to consider spiritual consequence before sinning.</p>
<p>Does God sit in heaven waiting for opportunity to throw lightening bolts at those who tick Him off? Of course not. It’s God’s goodness that draws sinners to Him- and keeps them there. But the Bible warns us about judgment, consequence, losing the protection of God, etc.</p>
<p>We should fear Him. Respect, revere, and fear Him. We are visitors on this planet which ultimately belongs to Him when He’s ready to call in the note. Most importantly, He’s only in control (in a good way) with the parts of our lives we have submitted to Him. The rest is left to Satan, and consequence and, thank you, Jesus, the mercy and grace of a Heavenly Father who never stops trying to reach us.</p>
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Paisley Yankolovichtag:therealpaisley.com,2005:Post/60481392011-06-25T17:00:00-07:002012-04-02T07:47:01-07:00Saw you on a corner...
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<p>There is such a temptation to snap-judge a stranger that I think it’s almost possible for anyone, in any walk of life to say they don’t give in occasionally. We see a strange, ugly, different, impaired, deformed, retarded or even simply a foreign person and so many thoughts pass through our minds. It’s inevitable that something off-colored or cruel will fly out of our mouths.</p>
<p>When I died my hair green for the duration of the Phoenix Fringe Festival, I was amazed at the incessant public commentary. Everywhere I went people spoke or yelled jokes, insults, sarcastic slurs that “meant no harm.” By the end of the day if felt like I needed a shower to wash off the spit.</p>
<p>This is the third time I’ve gone with green. Mind you, I’ve been blue, purple, maroon, red, blonde, black, bald, mohawked and even pink without half as much abuse. My hair was green for a short miserable spell a few years back and in the 80s when I was appearing in a film about teen suicide. Not much has changed, sadly. Back then people were just as idiotic-no more and no less.</p>
<p>I would caution you, dear readers, against falling into the trap of, “Well if you’re gonna buck the norm, you have to expect consequences.” One day you will be old or infirm or out in public with someone who is different in some way and you won’t like the feeling of being different. It’s invasive, isolating and sometimes quite scary. And violence tends to come out of no where and a rate no one can stop.</p>
<p>We as the keeper’s of God’s Word and His mouthpieces on planet earth need to speak up against such thinking as it ultimately leads to bullying, crime and death. If it’s ok to single out one type of person for being different, who’s to stop me from going after a different group?</p>
<p>I get that we like what we like and we are most comfortable with our own but we need to get the mind of God who created all different types of people. He knows how they became who they are when we notice them and He has loved them before they were born and will continue to love them past eternity.</p>
<p>As believers it is our job to love not designate value and worth based on our biases and culture (prejudice).</p>
<p>I know it’s hard sometimes. It’s even scary when we see examples of life gone wrong. But all life has gone wrong as all have sinned. We need to look at humanity through the eyes of redemption, swallow our pride and find a way to show Christ’s love everywhere, every day and in every situation.</p>
<p>Now can I get an “Amen”?</p>
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Paisley Yankolovichtag:therealpaisley.com,2005:Post/60481372011-06-24T17:00:00-07:002012-04-02T07:46:29-07:00Where do you come from...?
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<p>I remember as a kid watching “The Brady Bunch” how often their dad, Mike Brady would say, “We’re different than that, we’re Bradys” or “You can do it, you’re a Brady!” It was as if the family was made of a special concoction that made them some how miraculously different, impervious to flaw, corruption or destruction.</p>
<p>As a kid I would also hear my parents say, “We’re Jewish, we don’t do that” or “We’re Jewish we don’t believe that.” Of course, my children have heard “We’re Christians and we…” countless times. In fact, almost every family I know has used either the Brady tactic or the culture of religion ploy. Or both. It’s natural to want to impress on our young that we are different, no, better somehow.</p>
<p>Isn’t this also the culture of racism? “We are magically superior by the color of our skin and our heritage which magically makes you inferior because of yours.”</p>
<p>Sadly, this is also the curse of denominationalism. “We are Catholics, we…”, “We are Lutherans, we..” “I’m non-denominational so I…” We’re members of our own little culture cults that render us useless to fight the real enemy (Satan) and to stand up when the whole world is watching us at 3pm (my time zone) last Saturday, May 21, 2011. </p>
<p>When our argument against a fake Rapture prediction was only “Jesus said we won’t know what time or day…” instead of “God loves you and even after the rapture He will do everything to try to reach you” I realized how far we had come in our division. It was like, “I know the truth so who cares what the idiots believe…”</p>
<p>Folks, we are not Bradys. Or Jews, Or white or black, or men or women, or gay or straight, or free or slaves. We are all sinners, made of the same corruption that was handed down by Adam and Eve, inspired the madness of Charles Manson, justified Jeffrey Dahmer to himself (and his killers to the rest of us), motivated Bin Laden, dictates that Fred Phelps should picket gay funerals, and Harold Camping should continue to prophesy falsely.</p>
<p>We are no better than the people we judge. We are no better than the people we hate. Jesus had to die for us just the same. And He loves them just the same.</p>
<p>Where do you come from? You come from a long line of sinners that started with two. Two people who had it all because they lived in the physical presence of God Almighty. They threw that away on a whim that set off a series of events that would forever make man a creature of divisive division. We will always war with God, we will always war with each other, we will always point the finger at somebody else. It’s what we do.</p>
<p>Your color, your race, your money, your breeding, your education, your accomplishments and your delusion do not make you different, special or somehow superior in the eyes of God. He loves you because He chooses to. He has placed value on you that you did not and could never earn. Your sparkly eyes aren’t enough to keep Jesus off the cross for your transgression-nor is your six figure salary or your honor-roll child.</p>
<p>Nope. Evil you were born and until released from that Pilates-shaped shell, evil you will be save for that small part of you that is in submission to Him who bought you with His life. Because of Jesus and His suffering, you are perfect in the eyes of God but you should know better than to point the finger at another-no matter how terrible they appear to be-because Jesus died for them too.</p>
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Paisley Yankolovichtag:therealpaisley.com,2005:Post/60481382011-06-21T17:00:00-07:002012-04-02T07:44:56-07:00This world is not my home...
<p>I remember when I was growing up how convinced I was that I would have the same best friends for the rest of my life. Several years later, I can’t get any of those guys to even talk to me on-line! I look back and think of all the things I thought were permanent that weren’t… the house I grew up in, my mother, our dog, Empress, teachers I went back to visit who had aged so much that I barely recognized them ( and them me), favorite haunts, my first car, my friends from the church I was saved at…</p>
<p>In the past 28 years of walking with the Lord I‘ve seen countless deaths, divorces (including my own), dissolution of churches, businesses, friendships. A visit to my home town proved devastatingly sad. So much had changed that I didn’t even recognize the place I had spent the majority of my youth!</p>
<p>Yet though all of this, through all these years, Jesus has remained a constant. So much so that I always feel that HE’S my home, my place of refuge, my place to decompress and come back to the fight stronger and at the ready. I am convinced that it is not by faith that I live in Him but in actuality. WE travel this life together, taking up space, borrowing the gifts this life has to offer but this is a sandbox that I will grow out of someday, only to be replaced by younger others that will (hopefully) be learning to appreciate what is not forever.</p>
<p>Jesus is forever. And He is now. I may sleep in a bed but I rest in Him. I may eat many of the wonderful treats that God and humans have prepared but I am fed by Him. I have a roof over my head but I am protected by Him. I have a nifty car but He transports me to where He needs me.</p>
<p>Throughout the years I have known great loves but when they pass and before the next one arrives, He loves me unconditionally. I do not have to jump through hoops to get His approval, attention or acceptance. When I bask in the pleasures of human kindness it’s only a glimpse of the adoration He feels and the gifts He bestows. He has created me human to relate to all things human but I am fulfilled in Him and ultimately Him alone.</p>
<p>The rest is just gravy.</p>
Paisley Yankolovichtag:therealpaisley.com,2005:Post/60481362011-06-19T17:00:00-07:002012-04-02T07:45:13-07:00Majestic, Solid Rock
<p>Dear friends,</p>
<p>The following are the lyrics to a song I recorded called, MAJESTIC SOLID ROCK. Personally, I think it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. It’s based on a poem by a dear friend who is not crazy with my interpretation. She feels that the point of the song is lost in its presentation while I’m convinced it’s accentuated.</p>
<p>This song has known huge success on iTunes and it was a concert favorite-at least for me. I love what it says and I tried to catch its “searching” element in my arrangement. The final words are a combination of the writers.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Please chime in. I rarely invite criticism and I don’t think that’s what I’m after now. I’d love to know what HEARING this song makes you think and feel. The link is here on this site on the LEADING HORSES downloads</p>
<p>Looking forward to hearing back!</p>
<p>Standing before the ocean<br>And I’m thinking of You<br>Waves crashing into sand<br>Perfect rhythm<br><br>I feel invisible<br>Standing right next to this mountain<br>Curves so rigid<br>And high above me<br><br>Majestic Solid Rock<br>Can you even see me?<br>I’m so tiny in the scheme of things<br>Majestic Solid Rock<br>Can You even see me?<br><br>I catch a bird in flight<br>And think of You<br>I know I wasn’t there<br>While You created<br><br>I often think of heaven<br>And Jesus, I can’t wait<br>Jesus, I can’t wait<br>To hear You sing<br><br>Majestic Solid Rock<br>Can you even see me?<br>I’m so tiny in the scheme of things<br>Majestic Solid Rock<br>Can You even see me?<br><br></p>
Paisley Yankolovichtag:therealpaisley.com,2005:Post/60481352011-06-18T17:00:00-07:002012-04-02T07:45:37-07:00Some dreams thrive in darkness...
<p>The other day I joked, “If Jeff Conaway and Zsa Zsa Gabor are both in comas, can they see each other?” Everyone deals with grief and loss differently. My first line of defense always seems to be humor however inappropriate. These are two actors I feel I’ve known all my life though I only met them both once.</p>
<p>And now one is gone and one is sure to go soon.</p>
<p>As we age and our icons pass away we are forced to face our mortality in the most tangible of ways. Movie stars are planted in our minds as forever young and immortal. Then we turn on the news (or our computers) and suddenly Kenickie is 60. And dead. It was just the other day my kids were asking where our copy of “Grease” was so they could watch if for the umpteenth time. I commented on how many cast members I had known or met.</p>
<p>But it wasn’t until today that I found out that Dennis Stewart (Pock-Man in the car race) had also died, a decade ago from AIDS. I knew him back in the day and wish we had been better friends. But such is life: we meet people, some famous, some not. We drift in and out of each other’s lives, judging, envying, sometimes loving and then, poof! Someone’s on the news, there’s a posting on Facebook or an out of the blue email that puts everything into a whole new perspective.</p>
<p>We have no idea what lurks in the minds and heart of others ultimately. We take people’s word for their condition, gather insight from “tells,” but in the end we are in darkness believing for the best (or worst) in others. I remember seeing “Grease” for the first of what would be hundreds of times, looking in awe at Kenickie. He made out with Stockard Channing and got to pretend to be best friends with John Travolta. It was a dream job to a soon-to-be struggling actor/musician in Hollywood.</p>
<p>But it was a dream in darkness. Starting at an early age Jeff Conaway was exposed to the ills of substance abuse and sadly, for far too many, it will be his legacy. Not for me. I choose to remember the joy and enthusiasm he brought to “Summer Lovin,” “We Go Together,” and my favorite, “Greased Lightnin”.</p>
<p>Go Greased Lightnin‘.. Gone.</p>
Paisley Yankolovichtag:therealpaisley.com,2005:Post/60481342011-06-10T17:00:00-07:002012-04-02T07:46:03-07:00Outstretched hands and wanton eyes...
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<p>Seems like everywhere I turn people are talking about God. Goodness, Oprah spent her entire hour confusing the world by combining several different spiritual philosophies into quite the witch’s brew.</p>
<p>So it shall be, for your vanity…</p>
<p>After 28 years of being a believer and after 28 years of hearing folks scream, “We’re living in End Times,” I turn on CNN and I see how even the weather has turned into a weapon of mass destruction and I’m well are that it’s not just the temperature climate that has changed. People have changed. People want answers and are so desperate for them (especially in this economy) that they will listen to everyone and everything that sounds cozy, comfy, safe and hopeful.</p>
<p>And EASY.</p>
<p>Oprah’s telling the world that if we just think positive and do nice things for people we will ultimately bring success and enlightenment our way. And eventually become God in the process. This is simply not true. While doing good works is exactly that-doing good works, it does not make us God or even Christ-like. Jesus taught and gave parables and lived the example of a perfect life but this is meant to show us how to live AFTER restitution is made (Jesus’ death) and accepted (our new birth).</p>
<p>It is in Christ’s death and resurrection that we are able to receive the power that raised Him from the dead (the Holy Spirit) that makes it even possible to mimic His example and fulfill His teachings. Without recognition of our need for and provision of a Savior we are just stealing aspects of His life and reconstructing them to suit our own carnal desires. </p>
<p>Again, vanity.</p>
<p>Jesus’ life is not for our vulturing. He is and always will be all or nothing. HE said that. Our strongest (and most dangerous) so-called spiritual leaders (including and currently, especially Oprah) love to throw His name around, and create catch-phrases like “Christ consciousness” and deceive many by saying that his death was insignificant but it is His word that tell us that there is no other name under heaven that man can be saved and it is through recognition and confession of His death and resurrection and only through recognition of His death and resurrection can we once and for all have right relationship with God.</p>
<p>It’s good to help a neighbor, even give them a shiny new car. But it doesn’t make you God, doesn’t make you like God, doesn’t bring you closer to God and if you are running around telling people otherwise, teaching people that it’s by our good works and positive thinking that we become God-like…</p>
<p>So it shall be, for your vanity.</p>
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Paisley Yankolovichtag:therealpaisley.com,2005:Post/60481332011-06-09T17:00:00-07:002012-03-31T16:23:02-07:00Standing on fences...
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<p>I’ve never been much of a fence-rider. Too much of an extremist for that, I suppose. As I get ready to embark on my next musical venture, I reflect with bittersweet nostalgia upon my past musical identities. Here’s how I described my work in press releases...</p>
<p>“Not Unclean” (2004) : A 70s-style, bubble gum/glam rock Gospel record.</p>
<p>“Itch” (2005): Not Unclean” goes to hell.</p>
<p>“Does God Sleep?” (2006) : 10 songs about things Christians are not supposed to sing about.</p>
<p>“Real Man” (2007): Punk disco? A total pop record infused with 80s New Wave. </p>
<p>“Displaced” (2007): A song for the homeless partnered with two of my best compositions.</p>
<p>“Zombies” (2007): Three-Chord-Rock assault on the Church and how it’s treated minority and fringe groups.</p>
<p>“When Love Dies” (2008): Techno ballads with more than a hint of 70s Hippy Rock.</p>
<p>“Leading Horses” (2008): Industrial Gospel at its angriest.</p>
<p>“Burn In Hell” (2009): A pastiche of all the styles that have come before backed by tribal loops.</p>
<p>“Love Me Forever” (2009): My only album of “cover” songs. Heck, I even cover some of my own!</p>
<p>“Monsters” (2010): Dark acapella show tunes.</p>
<p>Yep. I’m not even sure the “Monsters” guy has even met the “Not Unclean” guy and if they did meet, if they’d even get along. I’m not sure I even care. I’ve spent the better part of the decade doing what I believed God called me, no, created me to do. I have never looked back except to bring some songs along for future rides.</p>
<p>It should come as no surprise that I have two almost-completed records about to be released (“High Risk Sexual Behavior” and “Psychotic”) that are wildly different than each other. Nor should it be shocking that for the next song cycle I’m moving in a different direction: Puck Rock For Solo Voice & Electric Guitar.</p>
<p>That even makes ME laugh!</p>
<p>Actually, the new press release puts it in a clearer context. Or does it?</p>
<p>“Gospel’s darkest messenger, Paisley Yankolovich, jumps tracks again with his latest song cycle, a ferocious mix of punk, rockabilly and 70’s-style garage rock done as performance art for ministry.</p>
<p>Unpredictable, unexpected and unrivaled in his ability to showcase honed musical talent and the freedom that comes from knowing the True and Living God, Paisley Yankolovich seamlessly combines elements of culture, tradition and total abandon in artistic expression, praise, worship and evangelism. Your religion will never be the same" (Cory Daniels, The Non-Existent Press) </p>
<p> No dresses, no operatic wails, no tracks, no rules. Standing on fences? I don’t think so, no.</p>
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Paisley Yankolovichtag:therealpaisley.com,2005:Post/60481322011-05-23T17:00:00-07:002012-04-02T07:47:24-07:00We've hit rock bottom...
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<p>Since the advent of the internet, my ministry has changed, grown, flourished and taken so many shapes and directions. It’s as if technology was timed to benefit the work of the do-it-yourself artist/preacher and I’m its luckiest recipient. While the numbers may fluctuate (or simply decline) here in Phoenix, my downloads and video hits continue to soar due to the ability to reach audiences all over the world despite our present economy which prohibits extensive touring- save for a select few.</p>
<p>But alas, such luxury comes with a price: cyber stalking. Cyber stalking, cyber bashing, cyber manipulation and just plain bad manners. People say things via chat, instant messaging, Facebook posts, emails, text messages, voice mail, etc that they’d never get away with to our faces. What a shame this is as it’s only in our direct, meek but heartfelt communication that change can occur.</p>
<p>But for some, change is not the objective. Destruction is.</p>
<p>I currently have a handful of cyber stalkers. I know, don’t give them the spotlight but today’s their lucky day. Meddling in my on-line affairs, assuming false identities to entrap me, spreading rumors and lies, making veiled and unveiled threats. Ha! I must be a celebrity after all. But what one fails to realize is who my Boss is.</p>
<p>More on this later.</p>
<p>Cyber bashers seem to be in high supply as well. These are so-called friends who have no filters when it comes to non-visual or tactile communication. Demands, snide, sarcastic assumptions, random attacks without provocation… They may want to Google “The full armor of God” not only to see where my strength, protection and esteem lie but to discover where their weapons and ammo are coming from as well. </p>
<p>Friends, please don’t write me in a panic. I am well. I had a great Father’s Day. I’m enjoying the challenge of my new musical direction. I’m grateful for the handful of physical and financial support I am receiving here in Phoenix. My new diet’s working and it’s a new season of “So You Think You Can Dance.”</p>
<p>Life is good.</p>
<p>I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to address this tonight after a hateful round of internet sleaze reminded me that while I gather with friends to exalt the True and Living Lord, others gather to demote Him, discount Him and defile and degrade His people. I am writing this as a courtesy to my enemies…</p>
<p>I do not know you (even if we have met), therefore not only do I have no animosity toward you, you do not scare me and will never effect my life, my relationships, my art, my ministry and most of all, my relationship with God. On the contrary. I’ve known Jesus longer than anyone in my “real” life today and we are tight. I know what His voice sounds like and I am not easily deceived or even influenced by many people. Certainly not children in adult bodies who resort to cyber games to accomplish their bidding. I see you as puppets of the most low god: Satan himself-not matter what god you profess-because this is who you currently serve.</p>
<p>I pray for you, my enemies, most of which have been revealed and I encourage anyone who reads this to partner with me in this as Jesus loves them more than they can know.</p>
<p>But I also warn them that when you aggressively seek to hurt, stumble, demean or even have your way with God’s people, you are assaulting Him in the process, you have declared war on Jesus Christ and this is what His word says about that…</p>
<p>Why do the nations rage against the Lord?</p>
<p>He who sits in the heavens will laugh..</p>
<p>The Lord shall hold them in derision…</p>
<p>He shall break them with a rod of iron…</p>
<p>He shall dash them in pieces like clay…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Be instructed, serve the Lord in fear</p>
<p>Kiss the Son-lest He be angry</p>
<p>And you perish in the way.</p>
<p> (Psalm 2)</p>
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Paisley Yankolovichtag:therealpaisley.com,2005:Post/60481312011-05-14T17:00:00-07:002012-04-02T07:42:42-07:00Lord, when they laughed at You, I was laughing too...
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<p>Recently I confronted someone that I loved with concern I had about something they were intending that could expose them to enormous physical, emotional, spiritual and legal risk. They rolled their eyes and laughed at me accusing me of choosing a position of judgment and poo-pooing my words as overwrought and annoying.</p>
<p>I explained that I had taken no position but that the law was the law and God’s word is God’s word. I likened the accusation to me begging this person not to jump off the roof and them accusing me of using the “gravity” thing as a manipulative tool and not fact. I said, “I did not create the law nor God’s word. These were in effect long before you and I were ever conceived. And, if you are wondering, I did not invent gravity either.”</p>
<p>The argument ended on an uncomfortable note and I spent the remainder of the day broken-hearted and fighting bitterness over being mocked. I know that it was actually Jesus being mocked and I was merely the messenger but it still felt like an offense worthy of teeth-grinding and grudge-bearing.</p>
<p>Much to my surprise, I found out later in the evening that this messenger had succeeded in faithfully delivering the word of the Lord and a sinner chose to change their course because of it. Hallelujah! In the immortal words of Joan Armatrading, “Sometimes the bear will eat you, sometimes you eat the bear.”</p>
<p>I’m eating the bear.</p>
<p>I’m walking on sunshine.</p>
<p>I’m rejoicing in the fact that there is one less sin nailing Jesus to the cross.</p>
<p>I remember that I laughed once, twice… Then one day my heart changed toward the Lord and the laughter of scorn turned to tears of repentance and laughter of joy. I pray this is the case here. I’m glad I obeyed the urging of the Spirit to speak. Obedience can be nice. Painful, frustrating, scary… But nice.</p>
<p>And James 5:19, 20 states: Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.</p>
<p>Obedience can be very nice, actually.</p>
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Paisley Yankolovich