TO BARRY
AMUNDSEN
(RE: Barry Amundsen (7
Apr 2012)
"Thank you Patti C")
Dear Barry,
I want to thank you for
your kind letter. I
appreciate you letting me know where your walk started and
how it changed your life.
None of our differences will matter when we are
together in His presence, and that may be why it is good
to focus on our similarities as we journey on this earth. In the end that
will be all that matters.
When
we see each other as Children of the Lord our differences
seems to melt away. Our
common bond, the Love of the Lord, and our remembrance of
what He did for us, brings us to the tears we need to cry,
to remove the logs and specks!!
After all the most
important issue is encouragement; to help us each
understand that if we stand in His love and light, we are
where we should be, and He will teach us all we really
need to know.
I addressed this issue in
my post about the Ways of Worship… we must do
the very best we can to worship in Spirit and Truth…hear
the Lord, and obey Him.
Understanding with our minds is the last of all, we
might not get to do that in this life, and must have
faith, that all we need to know the Lord will reveal to us
through the Holy Spirit.
The religions and
traditions of man try to reverse this order. They want to
understand with their minds and use their bodies to reach
a point where they will have “revelation” from God. This is not the
way that the Lord wants us to worship Him. This is the
difference between New Age “enlightenment” and worshiping
in Spirit and in Truth.
John 4:23 “But the hour
cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and
in truth: for the Father seeketh such
to worship him.”
4:24
“God
is a
Spirit: and they that worship
him must worship him in spirit and in
truth”.
Modern man has put
knowledge and education and knowing everything about the
world, above knowing God.
There is a vast difference between knowledge and
wisdom, and I think, we as a culture, have lost sight of
that. I also
believe that is what happened before the flood, man
worshiped his own knowledge, and the knowledge of other
men; gained through experience of good and evil, and no
longer had a personal relationship with God.
I watched your video, and
enjoyed your testimony.
Was very interesting that you mentioned San Marcos;
a familiar place to me, as I grew up in San Clemente, and
spent time in Encinitas, and La Costa as I had family
there. Did
you grow up around that area? I now live in a small town
in the Bitterroot valley in Montana.
One more question…when you
gave up your music, did you continue to be musical and
consider Christian music?
I was just wondering if the Lord would use you in
that way, because of you being so talented, musically. I know that most
often He will take us in a whole new direction, to do the
things that we are not so good at, so that we can grow in
Him. Is that
what happened with you?
For me, before I was born
again, I worked in Beverly Hills for an Interior Design
agency that did work for many Hollywood stars, and then
became an airline flight attendant for TWA, and then
worked on the ground for United. After my
conversion, I spent 25 years working with the handicapped,
vocationally and in schools. I totally loved it, as it was
so fulfilling, but not something I thought I would ever be
good at. We
do become new creatures!!
Thank you again for your
letter, it meant a lot to me. Was nice to learn about you,
and put a face to the man.
God bless you and yours!
Your sister in Christ,
Patti
C.
############
Barry Amundsen (7 Apr
2012)
"Thank you
Patti C"
I am
really glad to hear from you Patti,
I think we have
more in common than at first we may have thought. I too
made a dramatic about face spiritually back in 1979. I had
been a church goer and believer my whole life but still
going my own way until I finally obeyed God and gave up my
life plans for whatever He had in mind. Once I had done
that He began a long learning process that has never
stopped. It included many things that are outside the
comfort zones of the average church goer I guess but by
this time I had become completely different from where I
had been before and was not afraid to go wherever God led
me and learn whatever He wanted to show me.
So, I
discovered that God is looking for people that will trust
Him above all else and that this is our greatest challenge
in this life. Jesus said whoever is faithful in that which
is least is faithful also in much. God is looking for
faithful ones that He will then share His kingdom with.
Part of this learning process includes us having to choose
between this world and His, or our family and friends vs.
His home and people. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness and all these other things will be added
unto you.
I told God
that I was afraid to give up my music in favor of the
Bible and church because in all my years of going to
church and Sunday school, I never could learn the Bible
very well. So He told me that if I would give Him my
record collection (burn them) then He would teach me
things that even pastors and teachers did not know.
He has
done that.
Thank you
Patti for listening.