|
Concordance.
Contact larryv
The
Letters:
# 1. Faith,
Discipleship &
Spiritual
Warfare.
# 2. Prayer,
Judgmentalism
& Forgiveness.
# 3. The
Ekklesia
(Church)
-vs- Religion.
# 4. Elohim,
His
Love &
His
Discipline.
# 5. Spiritual
Gifts, Humility
& Elohim's
Power.
# 6. The
Ruach ha Qodesh
and Elohim's
Word.
# 7.
Reconciliation
& Sin - The
curse and our
need.
# 8.
Reconciliation
& Sin - The
consequence
of the curse.
# 9.
Reconciliation
& Sin - Sin's
cure.
#10.
Reconciliation
& Sin - Our
Choice.
#11.
Discipleship.
#12.
Works of Faith.
#13. The
Gifts of
the
Ruach ha Qodesh
- and a Test.
#14.
The Sign Gifts.
#15. The
Support Gifts.
#16. The
Service Gifts.
#17. Living
as Disciples.
#18.
The Snatching
(Rapture) &
Tribulation.
#19.
Prophesy & a
Closing.
#20.
Beware the
false prophets
and teachers.
#21.
The Signs
of Messiah's
Return.
#22.
Oneness
&
The Trinity
and the Names
of Elohim!
#23.
Understanding
Righteousness,
While
Acknowledging
The enemy.
#24.
The Matter of
the Sabbath.
Simple Poems.
About the
Author.
Support.
|
|
Letters
of Faith and Righteousness,
Author Biography and
Testimony...

My name is Lawrence Vosen, but to my friends, I have always
been known as larry. I am now 61 years old, and have been married to Charlie,
my loving wife, for almost 40 years (7/11/70). Her name is Charlene, but she's
been "Charlie" to me since the day we met! We have one daughter,
Andrea - 33, and one granddaughter, Brittany - 15.
Originally, Charlie and I are from Cleveland, Ohio. Although we've done
considerable moving over the years, we still consider Cleveland to be our world-bound home. Her Mom, my brother and his family,
my nephew's and their families still reside there. Plus,
there are the Cleveland Indian's to keep in mind. But I digress.
Anyway, we currently reside in Central Point, Oregon, which is located in the
southern end of that state, just thirty miles from the California border.
I was born and raised as a Catholic, but the teachings and "religious"
nature of that institution soured in my heart at a very early age. Praise
be to Yahshuah!
Nevertheless, after eight years in an extremely academic private
"Catholic" school, I was bored to tears in the public High
School system. That boredom, coupled to the natural changes of puberty, caused me
to rebel. At 16 I quit school, and after getting my GED, which was
required, I joined the Army on 3/7/66 (Naturally with my parent's approval.... Actually, I threatened that it was either the Army or I'd leave home
anyway and, "Who knows what crowd I'll end up with out there!").
Following training, and a brief tour in Germany, I was sent to Vietnam (at 17),
and I served with the Army's Fifth Special Forces
Group. I served on an A-Team in an extremely remote outpost
in the Central Highlands of that country, in a camp called, Dak-Pek
(A-242). I remained in Vietnam for almost
eighteen months, and on 11/20/68 - forty days shy of my 20th birthday, I received my honorable discharge and returned home. I met Charlie in February of
1969. Praise be to Yahshuah for that too!
When I got home from the service, I went back to school. I attended night classes at a community college in Cleveland for a couple of years, and
then the moving began. Work took us to Denver, Colorado, and then out to California. Over the next twenty years we'd live in Northern, Central and Southern California. I continued my education as best I could,
and eventually, I did receive my degree (s)... But, the lessons learned at
Yahshuah's knee remain the accomplishments I treasure most!
Anyway, when I was twenty nine, one of the salesmen I worked with (a Born-Again
Christian - whatever that was!) would come into the office every day at 4:30PM or so, pull a newspaper article out of his pocket, and read it to us. The article would always be about some world event or
another, and when he was done reading the article, he would quote
a passage or two from Scripture, and attempt to show how Elohim's Prophetic Word was coming to pass
in our lifetime. Naturally, a debate would always follow his readings. This went on for months!
Eventually, my limited "knowledge" of Scripture, acquired during my eight years of Catholic schooling, was exhausted.
I could not hold up my end of the discussions any longer, and I was relegated to the sidelines... I'm not meant to sit on the
sidelines! So, I purchased an NASB copy of the Scriptures, and for the first time in my life, I read
Elohim's Word for myself.
(Thank you Bob B.). I read the Scriptures like a novel in that first passing, but I
had more questions coming out of that first reading than I did going in - so I read it again..... On the
third reading through His Word, somewhere in the New Testament, I met Yahshuah
ha Mashiach, and I accepted Him as my personal
Master, Messiah and King... I asked Jesus into my heart, and He came!!! (He wasn't anything like the god they spoke of in elementary school)!
The next few months were amazing. I STUDIED His Word for at least three hours every day.
In the meantime, I got a promotion at work - which required a move from Northern
California to Southern California. So, I was away from home Sunday PM until Friday PM. During the nights I was alone, I studied more - and prayed
a lot. Then, through some really bizarre events, I was out of a job... Mountain top to valley floor in
about six months! I don't want to burden you with details, but it was a totally unrighteous
dismissal - with a totally righteous ending.
For three years Elohim
literally closed every door imaginable for gainful full-time employment.
Charlie had a full time job, and I worked part time wherever I could, but thousands of
résumé's fell into the hands of blind eyes. So, during this period, I studied His Word.
When I wasn't working, I studied for fourteen to sixteen hours a day. When I worked, I studied for eight to ten hours... I couldn't get enough!
(I want you to understand one vital thing about this time period though, and the
events taking place in our lives... Charlie was not saved - yet).
What a woman! What a blessing!
So the picture looks like this:
I'm sitting at my desk with four different Scriptural translations opened to the same passage
(of whichever Book I happened to be studying), with two different concordance's, a mountain of 5x7 cards
indexed according to topic, a Topical 'bible', two Word Dictionary's and whatever
other tools I could find - for fourteen hours a day - seven days a week. I studied specific words, phrases, numbers and thoughts.
I conducted topical studies, word studies, numeric studies. Anything and everything that caught my
attention was
dissected on a verse by verse basis. Yahshuah had full reign, and His Ruach ha Qodesh
led me in gaining a foothold on understanding His Word.
I went through the Scriptures twice in that fashion during that three year period,
with the result that Yahshuah taught me about His love, forgiveness, compassion and mercy. The Book of Galatians,
for example, totally set me free from the legalism of my Catholic upbringing, and established my understanding of the Fruit of the
Spirit. The Book of Ephesians taught me about His grace and our need to be obedient. 1 Corinthians taught me about
God's love.... And so it went...
While all of this was going on, friends, acquaintances and
people from 'church' kept asking me, what my "Ministry" was," but I didn't have an answer. The studying
continued, but the underlying thought that I needed direction to find "my
ministry" drove me to enroll in a 'bible' College in the foothills of Denver.
After two semesters though, Elohim's Word to me was very clear: "And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him" (1John
2:27). And with this Word implanted in my heart, I left the school and returned to studying at Yahshuah's knee.
After three years in this mode, the company which had wrongly
dismissed me, called - asking if I would return.
Charlie and I knew immediately that it was right. I knew that it was Yahshuah's
will!
The company moved us to Oxnard, California, where for the next nine years I
tried to apply in the workplace everything that He had taught me. It was a period of ministry
that I enjoyed tremendously, and souls were won for His glory.
Charlie also found Yahshuah during our first year in Oxnard, and together our faith and love for Him
- and for each other - grew.
I also became a Sunday School teacher while in Oxnard, and continued teaching for the next
twelve years. Naturally, my personal studies continued as well, only I was restricted to two or three hour sessions, instead of the 14 hour marathon's I had grown accustomed
to. Work went well too. I got another promotion, and for three years I headed up three departments
at our corporate headquarters. Then the company got sold,
and I got down-sized out. Unemployed again!
That was twenty five years ago...
After working through the start-up, growth and sale of an upscale restaurant
chain, the second period of unemployment really commenced. And, for
another three years, Yahshuah set out once again to teach me. Literally thousands of résumé's
were sent out during this period - with no results. It was an
amazing situation! It was an amazing time set apart for Yahshuah's
glory.
During the first three year period at His knee, I learned about
His forgiveness, mercy compassion and love. I learned that everything I had been taught as a boy was a lie.
Elohim had to get me past those hurdles.
The second three year period was even more intense, however, because the foundation had already been
set, and through the daily events of our lives, He built on my understanding of
His teachings. Throughout all these things, Yahshuah ha Mashiach was, and
remained the cornerstone of our faith... During the second three year period though, aside from my studies
of Scripture, I devoured everything written by Francis Schaeffer. Mr. Schaeffer's philosophical and theological knowledge, coupled with what
Elohim was teaching me, helped me get on the path of discovering the truth about forgiveness, judgmentalism, bigotry, hatred, abuse (physical, mental and substance) and many other areas.
Areas in which the church still stands in conflict with God today.
Additionally, during the second three year period, Yahshuah laid a burden in my heart for His
EKKLESIA, His Body! His Word began to show me how fully we had abandoned the discipleship
process, and through my
association with different 'church' groups, He showed me just how far we had
fallen.
Finally, during the second three year period, people I knew once
again started asking me questions about my faith. Unlike the questions I had
received earlier
in my walk with Yahshuah though, these were the kind of questions people ask when they know that everything is falling in around
you - but they don't see any wavering - they don't see any panic. It was more the, "How could I still believe in a
Master and Messiah who would allow these things to happen to one of His
servants?" kind of questions. And I began answering them - in letters.
As the questions continued, and answers were generated, the Word grew ever more concrete in my heart,
and I started to formulate the product we herein present to you as "The
Letters of Faith and Righteousness". From the beginning of
my second three year period of unemployment, the initial eighteen Letters took
seven years to develop - and put online. Although I tried to get them published, no
'Christian' publisher would touch
them. They are, "too controversial", "too intense" and
"written at a level which exceeds a fifth grade mentality". Direct quotes...
Anyway, the second three year period of study and job hunting
ended when a new company opened doors about a mile from our house - and I got hired as the
GM. I remained with them for five years. Unwilling to promote the business
properly though, and therefore unable to afford the luxury of a GM, the company
and I parted.
The period since that parting (twenty years now) began with my working at
a permanent part time associate management position, while ministering online
through this ministry known as The Letters! Eight years ago though, that
part time position transitioned to a full time, salaried, position, and then -
six years ago - it transitioned again to a District Management position - in
Medford, Oregon. Before the permanent positions developed though, we found
ourselves in the midst of our third period of intense study, and the outcome of
those studies produced Letters 19 thru 23. Those writings were pretty much
completed by the winter of
2001. I am constantly editing The Letters though; constantly checking to
insure that the writings are as accurate as possible - in light of the knowledge
and understanding that our Father has imparted to me.

It is now May, 2010 and I once again find myself in deep study
and devotion to the Word of God, and to serving Him in whatever manner He
desires. After sixteen years, I have terminated my employment with a
company that has grown increasingly unethical and unrighteous, and am now
rededicating myself to this ministry - and to writing new Letters to add to this
site. My first task at this moment, however, is to insure that each Letter
is updated, current and as accurate as possible, and I am marking each
'rewritten' Letter with a tab, until all
23 letters are in fact updated. Then new letters will pour forth, because
Father is moving me to discuss some very urgent matters... Please pray for
us as we endeavor to expand this ministry. We are here to serve!!!

You will probably be surprised to learn that my ability to quote Scripture by
Book, Chapter and
Verse, is relatively non-existent... I cannot do it very well at all.
(Even though I had committed both Galatians and Ephesians to memory at one point
in time, I still never knew chapter and verse numbers). As a matter of fact, I had to
use my concordance to locate the passage from 1 John 2:27 - which speaks of Him
being the only Teacher I needed - and I cherish that passage tremendously.
Nevertheless, If 1 John 2:27 is truly meant for me to claim, as I have for
the past thirty years, then my Teacher has made sure that I have not only read His Word, but by the discipline and strength of His hand, He has made me experience His Word as well.
I am devouring His Word again today, as I have in the past, and
in this devouring He is providing an ever deeper comprehension for who He is,
who we are in relationship to Him and to His Word, and what we are to do as His
day draws ever nearer...
(I am led to tell you though, that in reading and devouring His Word, periods of intense
Scriptural study must be followed by periods of digestion. The Word of
Elohim is MEAT! It is SUBSTANCE! If you are being led to devour His Word,
then please know that you must also spend time digesting and internalizing what
He is giving you. It is impossible to eat and eat without taking time to
digest. Our body's simply do not work this way - and neither do our
hearts, minds or souls!)
While Ruach ha Qodesh has given me the ability to put a thousand little pieces of His Word together, and formulate
solid
conclusions from those bits and pieces, I am learning today that although
comprehending His Word is critically and eternally significant, living His Word eclipses that significance.
Sound theology is a good thing, but theology pales in comparison to a life that displays
His
love, mercy and compassion. Wisdom and knowledge are wonderful companions, but
without His Love, they are lonely - and meaningless - indeed.
Many within the Ekklesia are consumed in battles over issues of doctrine and theology,
and as the Christian society fights amongst themselves, souls are being lost.
And Babylon, the false church, is growing in our midst every day. Satan has
come to earth, and even the elect are being deceived. Is it really important when the
snatching (rapture) takes place? Is Yahshuah being glorified in
our battles over who is right and who is wrong over any issue other than Messiah
crucified - for our sins? I believe not!
While The Letters are a significant teaching, the message I pray they convey above all else, is that
Yahshuah ha Mashiach is the Only Source of Eternal Life, and that only those who
know Him personally as Messiah and Master, and who call upon and
abide in Him, will know the eternal life that He offers. In the fullness of His Gospel,
we teach that He came and lived a sinless life as a man, and He died on a cross for
our sins (A wholly perfect and complete sacrifice to our Heavenly Father, on our
behalf) - that by
His blood we are cleansed. And in knowing and abiding in the fullness of
these things, we receive eternal
life (thru Yahshuah ha Mashiach) from our Heavenly Father. Amen!!!
My hope and promise for the future lie partly in the passage from 1 John, which
I quoted earlier, because I cannot believe that He has taught me so much - at such a great expense to Him (His time, energy, patience, tolerance, love, compassion and mercy, name but a few areas of His intense investment in me), without
permitting me to return something for His glory. The Letters, and the ministry
that is evolving from these writings, represent everything that I have to return to Him. I only hope
they truly glorify Him!

As for the future? Be assured, dearly beloved, Yahshuah cannot return just yet. Too much prophecy remains to be fulfilled before His return. The Father alone knows
the times and dates of things though, so I bow to Him, and await His further
revelation! I also believe, however, that He is doing a cleansing work on His chosen ones right now, and that the time of the Great Harvest is
rapidly approaching. Truly, without question, these are exciting times!
With all of this being said, therefore, I only hope that you can see that my
heart is set upon serving Yahshuah wherever and whenever He calls. I
will walk across this country,
and around the world, for Him - if He desires. And who knows, maybe
He will provide for that. In the interim, and in obedience to Him
today, I am communicating with those brothers and sisters, like you, from
around the world, whom the Master brings to us over the internet. I am trying to
teach discipleship unto Him whenever and wherever He permits, and shall endeavor to continue this work for however long the
Master determines, allows and provides.
Please pray for us in these endeavors.
I remain faithfully your servant in Yahshuah our Messiah,
larry vosen
The Concordance.
.
"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN
STANDARD BIBLE®, ©Copyright The Lockman Foundation
1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1995. Used by
permission."
Copyright © 1991 - 2010, Central Point, OR
|