Daily Deprogramming

Back in the summer of 1994, a month or so after the former pastor/husband of Ardith Keef was told to step down, and was being shunned,  the little group which was left from  our  former church  was gathering in his home  in Gorham, Maine for meetings.   Ardith went away to Ukraine for I think 3 weeks.  Her instructions to me were to “hold onto the land God had given her by prayer.” This meant she didn’t want her former husband to get hold of the house.  It was his home as well.  He lived there.

One evening  while she was away we had a meeting.  The door was locked.  One of us broke into the home through a window. There were probably 10 of us of which I was the oldest. The rest were 18-20 and one was 35 years old.   Most were students from USM where Ardith taught and still does as far as I know.

The little group went in and prayed and shared. I more or less led the group.  (Bill Keef and Ardith were not married until a year later.( Both of their now former  marriages were still in tact.)  The shunned and defrocked pastor asked us quietly to leave and we refused. I dutifully responded , “No, we’re not leaving. “  He called a former member who was a business man and , he and his wife arrived a short time later.  They asked us to leave, I said, “No.” someone said, “Then we’ll have to call the police.”  I said, “do whatever you have to do, we’re not leaving.”  Then I asked the group to sing, “Standing on the Promises.” We stood and sang  and felt quite bold and determined.  

The police came and we left quietly. Someone had called Bill Keef ,but he never arrived to help us until it was all over and we were all outside. He is and has always been a coward ,and can only function with Ardith Keef’s strength.

I am ashamed today of my behavior that night. There are no “Promises” of God that allow a person or group to demand entrance into another mans home, when not admitted entrance.  There are no Promises of God that take a person beyond scripture into a place of “freedom” that inflicts upon the rights of a man being the proprietor of  his  own home and family, except by a court of law.   There are no “Promises” of God  that allow for the  “going beyond scripture” into some obscure place where there are no limits and bounderies.

The Lord gave us His Word of Truth. The Bible says “He has lifted His Word above His Name!”  His Word can be depended upon. However, cult leaders twist it to accomplish their agenda in order to control people.  

Ardith says today, “Until you step out upon His Word, you do not know- you only believe.  Those who have decided to put their weight on Word , albeit circumstances appear to contradict God, those are they who know He can be trusted.  They chose to trust Him when His way appeared to be outside the realm of possibility.”  

To this I respond, How many times does God  lead one away from their mate into divorce ,contradicting Himself , when He says in His Word, “I hate divorce!” and “What God has put together let no man put assunder?”   Is it 3 times  or more as in Ardith’s walk with God?   Perhaps God will lead her away from her present husband on another “stunning adventure” ?   Ardith certainly does have one “stunning adventure” after another just in husbands coming and going!  I don’t think  Almighty God did any of the leading in any sense of the word. 

The sad thing is that she leads others in her own unholy, unfaithful, unscriptural way.   She takes a wonderful  Bible passage  such as “We walk by Faith and not by Sight”,  which is true, and twists it into her false teaching making people think anything goes with God , and He will lead you anywhere even outside of His own Word if you walk by faith.  One  has to say this when the fruit of their life is a series of divorces, abuses, shunning of people , dishonoring and abandoning even their own mother, and whole families divided , the breaking up of churches, false charges against other Christians, spiritually and emotionally abusing of children,  and divisions. 

When one refuses to admit they are wrong the only explanation they can give is that “God led me here, by faith. I walk by faith and not by sight.”   In Truth there are decisions every step of the way where we can’t see and must trust Him and step out  in faith.  But The Holy, Faithful and True,  Dependable , Almighty God does not go against His own Word, neither does He lead His people on a crooked path.   He said, “Here is the good old way, walk in  it”  He is unchangable and so is His Word of Truth. We can truly “Stand on His Promises”  and trust in the good old way!