I Will Stand for Jesus, Regardless of the Cost

October 12, 2004

Dear Bishop Mose:

Greetings of love in Jesus' name. How are you doing? I think of you often, and I have wanted to write you for a while, but our last letters felt rather cut off; it seems we are not seeing things eye-to-eye anymore.

I don't want to go on and on, writing many words, because I feel too unworthy to admonish you. May I, instead, write a little bit about myself?

When I was Amish, I was told over and over to surrender to the Amish church and to always obey it. Last year, when I was in the ban for issues not related to leaving, I felt the Amish church was doing something wrong.

The church waited a long time to take my family and I up from the ban because of our belief in Jesus. After a lot of time passed, I got tired of the wait and told my children that it was time to stop clinging to Jesus and do all we could to cling to the Amish. In order to do so, we lied, even though we knew better, so that we could have peace with the church. Because we clung to the church, we  were finally relived from being on the ban.

I should have been happy, but instead, I felt terrible. I pleaded with God for help and direction. Four weeks later, God sent another issue my way, where I was confronted and was faced with the option to lie again. This time, I decided to take a stand and do what was right in an attempt to be in better standing with God. Because I took a stand for what was right, the Amish banned my family from the church again.

At this point, I was still determined to stay Amish, so my family and I moved to a New Order community. Unfortunately, the church we moved to was full of hypocrisy, which caused my feelings to be mixed up until the day that I finally surrendered and decided to go God's way all the time, regardless of the cost. If I would have realized the cost that was ahead, I doubt if I could have handled it. I am so glad that I gave things over to Christ, though; I did not realize where it would lead me to today. 

I believe you have a true vision of how we are saved only through Jesus, and that there is no other name given that we can be saved by. Why, then, if you are a born again Christian, do you shun people who diligently seek the Lord? And why do you judge people that wear things other than Amish clothes and drive a car? Das Reich Gotles Rommt nicht mit auserlicken gebarden.

I can honestly say, from the depth of my heart, that I have no more pride with English clothes on than I do with Amish clothes on. I have no more pride or lust when driving a car than when driving a horse and buggy. In Philippians chapter four, Paul explains how his goodness of the law was all a loss and considered as dung when he received Jesus for his Savior. We can not have Jesus as our Savior and still cling to our righteousness and bondage.

Since I have surrendered only to God, I have been miraculously delivered from my depression. I have received victory over my terrible lust problem, and I have been sentenced to only five years of probation instead of jail time. Great miracles are taking place in my life.

Mose, "seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and then the rest will be added unto you." Please surrender and let go of your own righteousness. So many people are taking the Word of God and twisting its meaning. "You must be born of the spirit" - what does this have to do with modern living, and where does the word plain come in? The Bible says that we must be born again Christians; I don't find anywhere that it says we must be born again "Plain" Christians.

If a person has the gift of love and compassion etc., how dare we judge them by the clothes they wear? Why are we so judgmental about how people dress on the outside and ignore how their hearts are dressed on the inside?

I Peter 3:3-6 says, "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting of hair and of wearing of gold or of putting on of apparel, but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price."

I hear people take the above two verses and twist them around, looking at them in the temporal, outside, carnal manner. There are revelations given to those that totally surrender to the Spirit.

I know it would be very humbling for you to leave the Amish, Mose, and I am not telling you to leave the Amish, but I am telling you that if you want a true relationship with the Lord, then you will have to step out of the bondage "kveckshaft gefangenshaft" that most Amish are under. You will never be able to help other people come to the light if you aren't free yourself.

Drastic things are going to happen to those that don't have Jesus written on their foreheads. I feel obligated to warn everybody, and to ask them if they are truly free from self and are relying only on the grace of God. I really believe that if you would check yourself with the Word in the manner of the wisdom from the Holy Spirit and cast out all human fear, then you would totally understand why I am where I am today. I can honestly say that I didn't change because I wanted to but because I had to. 

There is only one way, and I confess, it is far from my way, but because it is God's way, it is always right. Oh please do not believe the lies of the devil. I have never in my life experienced people coming to the Lord in the way that I have seen it this summer. Oh Mose, wouldn't you please, for God's sake, consider eternity and consider the real truth and put away your fleshly sin? 

With love,

L. Schwartz

^{This letter has been published with permission from the owner.}