- About you, the folks we're writing to...
- About us and our website...
- What we aren't saying...
- What we are saying...
About you...
Do these identify the kind of Christian you are?
- Are you tired of sitting on a pew?
- Want to try walking on the water?
- Do you think there's more to the Christian life than complying with tradition?
- Do you want more than passively receiving the same old programs, pablum, and preaching?
. . . Then, friend, these messages are for you!
You are part of...
- Gideon's 300
- the Benjamin Company
- the Overcomers
- the Barley Field
- the Manchild
- the 100-fold Harvest
- the Remnant
About us and our website . . .
At Home in Zion Ministries, we want to
- support those who, like Peter, are getting out of the boat
- encourage those who, like Elijah, are discouraged and lonely
- reach out to the seven thousand who have not "bowed the knee to Baal"
At Home in Zion Ministries, we seek to unite and edify "the Barley," those within the Body of Christ...
- who are hungry for God
- committed to His goals
- zealous for His glory
- yielded to His will
What we aren't saying
by Carol Balizet
June, 2002
Let me say this clearly and emphatically: we are not trying to change anybody. We never, never tell people what to do. We don't tell them what to believe, either. We never instruct others or make decisions for them.
The only thing we say is: ask God, and believe and do what He says, based on the Bible. We believe than each adult Christian is totally free to believe and behave according to his own understanding and his own conscience.
Despite this, our group is constantly accused of being manipulative and dogmatic, and we are blamed for the lives of others.
We have what we think are considered, informed, Scripturally based ideas about how to live a godly life in a evil world, and it has worked well for us, producing growth and fruit and increasing intimacy with God.
But we also believe, most fervently, that we are all responsible for our own decisions and our own behavior, always allowing for proper submission to authorities over us, like parents, employers and the law.
We also believe that we shall all stand totally alone on judgment day and account to God for our lives. I think it's clear that the excuse, "So-and-so said to do this..." won't stand as valid. We have free will. We all have the freedom in God to follow Him as we believe best.
So believe and live as you see fit, and God bless you. We are not trying to convert those who believe differently. No.
Our whole thrust is to affirm and strengthen those who already believe as we do -- not to convert those who do not! As we travel and as our materials are disseminated more widely, we continue to hear this kind of statement: "I always believed that, but I didn't know anybody else did! I thought I was crazy!" Those are ones we're talking to! Those who find no horror or offense in the way we live.
Please don't look on us as dangerous radicals, as cultists, as offensive. We're no threat to anybody. We're not going to sneak up on you, to lure you into a dangerous cult. We're a little bit different from current, standard Christianity, but that doesn't mean we're dangerous or even wrong. Give it a try; you may be surprised.
And I can promise this: It will not bore you.
What we are saying
by Carol Balizet
June, 2002
I think almost all of us would agree that most Christians live far below what is promised in Scripture. For example, look at just a couple of things that were promised by Jesus (Who came to give us a life lived abundantly), by Peter (who said we already have possession of all things pertaining to life and godliness), and Mark (who proclaimed that we shall be followed by miraculous signs and wonders), and lots of other writers. And we won’t even talk about the promise of our Lord that we shall do greater works than He did.
Since we’re Americans, we have a degree of blessing in things like prosperity, comfort, self-determination and safety (at least so far!) but that’s just natural stuff!
I’m talking about spiritual blessings; about answered prayer; about peace of mind and soul; about seeing our needs met by God; about consistent healing for the body; about a confident and joy-filled life whatever our circumstances may be; about lives that are pleasing to God. And I’m talking about power in the Spirit, and frankly, Christians don’t have that most of the time.
When’s the last time you tossed a mountain into the sea? Raised the dead? Well, me neither. Not many of us do. Why? Does the Bible lie? Is it merely symbolic in its claims and promises, or are we missing something?
And as I wonder about our marginal Christianity, I think of all the years our ministry dealt with couples who were not just willing, but eager - determined! - to make their lives as pleasing to God, as unfettered and Scripturally - oriented as possible. They had at least a measure of what we’re talking about, and as the months passed, they increasingly led lives of purity and power and intimacy with God.
This was the situation: these folks wanted to have a home birth without any medical assistance. Just God and some helpful people. With no natural pre-natal care, they did anything possible to prepare spiritually. If we are relying solely on God, then we’d better be in a condition which frees Him to bless us. No serious sin, no dangerous deceptions, no reigning demons, no “open doors” through which enemy forces have gained dominion.
Here’s a very early incident that shows how this “I must please God!” endeavor started. An expectant father spoke to me after one of our meetings: “You know, sometimes I get a headache and I pray and it doesn’t go away.” I nodded and murmured, “Me, too.” He went on: “So what do I do to make sure that when my wife’s in labor, and maybe she has a problem, that it isn’t one of the times that prayer doesn’t work?”
Good question! And all the others who heard it agreed. They all said, “We need to get serious about this thing!” So we spent years finding at least some of the answers. What does loose God to bless us? What does hinder Him? These folks knew that in crisis, or even worse in catastrophe, they had to have power with God. And it seems likely that maybe the rest of us ought to strive to please and release God even if there isn’t an approaching time of crisis.
So we studied and prayed and learned, and together we discovered a lot of things that increase power with God. And we learned some of the things that block it. As we observed hundreds of these couples, we learned a thing or two about clearing the clutter which hinders God from moving in power in the lives of His children. Most of these writings concern what we learned; learned in the trenches so to speak. I’ll say this: none of it is just theory!
So we offer for your considerations some insights on things like prayer, truth, blood, drugs, faith, dust, religion, authority, suffering and a lot of other subjects. Our experience has given us some wisdom. As always, we welcome your comments, ideas and additions.
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