Do you care about how your faith and how the Christian faith as a whole is perceived by those outside of it? Do you think only internal perceptions matter since you are in the light and those outside are in darkness? Do you think admiration and respect for believers is constant or trending upward or downward? A Biblical requirement is that those seeking positions of leadership have a good reputation with those outside the faith. This also matters because those outside the faith are your pool of potential converts and their perception of the character of believers matters.

Has your understanding of me remained constant throughout your life? Do you study the Bible to refine your concept of me? What else provides you with such guidance? Have your life experiences shown you errors in the way you perceive me and made you revise the way you see me? Don’t be surprised if I come to you disguised as your life. If I do will you recognize that I am teaching you? What is the alternative? To think that you can figure it all out from books, even the Bible? The alternative to learning from your life is not to learn from your life.

Question from Megan Montgomery: Hi, in a vision can I visualize myself as a child or an adult? I usually visualize myself as a child. For some reason, I struggle to visualize myself as an adult. I use the visual prayer A Stroll Along the Sea of Galilee. I imagine myself as a child before it says you may turn into a young child. In most of my visions, I am a child. Also, how do I keep my eyes fixed on Jesus as I write? Sometimes my mind goes all over or the vision seems to move (ex: I am dancing with Jesus). I do not know if I am doing something wrong. I ask the Holy Spirit to make Jesus come alive also. 

I said that unless your righteousness exceeded the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees you would not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. This was a shocking statement to my audience who saw these groups at the top of the hierarchy of religious practice. Was it meant to be discouraging and present an impossible standard? The righteousness of the Pharisees was self-righteousness, and they loved recognition. I told my followers to pray in secret and they would be rewarded openly.