We have been talking about this a lot  lately... Ellen and me... and the folks we walk with up here in Vermont... talking about it a lot... talking about what was missing  when we were first presented with the Gospel... some things that maybe should be said right in the beginning  of our walk with God.... we wonder what it might be like... for instance... if we told people that from this moment on... every single step we take... should be something that rings true  in the deepest... innermost... part of our being....

What If... everybody who came into a relationship  with Jesus.... came in on this ground—that every step we take... every thing we hear... should be something which the Lord Himself  has ratified in our own heart...what if... we had not just taken it and accepted it because we were told we ought to... because we were told  this is what we need to believe... this  is the way to be a Christian... believe  the way that we believe... do the things that we do... what if... instead.... it was a living issue  between ourselves and the Lord— wonder what kind of followers  of Jesus there would be!

Of course... there were few other things we weren't told back then either... you know...back  in the beginning... of our walk with God...