From a note to my aunt:
God’s really given me grace for this, and he’s even given my wife and kids grace. The problem is, he’s not giving all my relatives grace, and I’m finding I have to share the comfort he’s pouring out on us.
It’s truly “amazing grace,” as miraculous as anything I’ve ever seen.
One of the things that brought me to Christ was seeing the movie, "In the Presence of Mine Enemies."
When all those people who had been POW’s, tortured for years, came out and fell on their knees and gave thanks to God, I was angry. Why would they thank the God that had allowed such terrible suffering? All I could conclude was that God must have been present with them during their suffering, and that’s why none lost their faith.
Now I understand.
About Paul Pavao
I am married, the father of six, and currently the grandfather of five. I teach, and I am always trying to learn to disciple others better than I have before. I believe God has gifted me to restore proper theological foundations to the Christian faith. In order to ensure that I do not become a heretic, I read the early church fathers from the second and third centuries. They were around when all the churches founded by the apostles were in unity.
My philosophy for Bible reading is to understand each verse for exactly what it says in its local context. Only after accepting the verse for what it says do I compare it with other verses to develop my theology. If other verses seem to contradict a verse I just read, I will wait to say anything about those verses until I have an explanation that allows me to accept all the verses for what they say. This takes time, sometimes years, but eventually I have always been able to find something that does not require explaining verses away. The early church fathers have helped a lot with this.
I argue and discuss these foundational doctrines with others to make sure my teaching really lines up with Scripture. I am encouraged by the fact that the several missionaries and pastors that I know well and admire as holy men love the things I teach. I hope you will be encouraged too.
I am indeed tearing up old foundations created by tradition in order to re-establish the foundations found in Scripture and lived on by the churches during their 300 years of unity.
There are a lot of opinions and rumors about Constantine, the Council of Nicea, and the events of the fourth century that changed Christianity to Christendom. Not only will you get the incredible story, with all its twists, plots, and intrigues, but you will find out how history is done and never wonder what is true again.
The Rest of the Old, Old Story 
This is so true. I have experienced that grace myself and I remember it feeling like I was walking on a cloud, or better, floating. Not that I was thinking about it then, but that’s what I remember. Someone later told me it was because He was carrying me in His arms. I believe that. I love you, Shammah, and there are things I believe about God because you beleve them. Thank you for being who you are.