Last week I mentioned that one of my friends is involved in an activity which is common to the distraction of the Christian by evil and almost always ends with the Christian being mislead and ultimately defeated by that same evil. The activity is Spiritual Warfare and how Christians get mislead is by seeing demons behind every yowling cat or flickering leaf. Seeing evil becomes their focus - not the Sovereignty of God nor the Deity of Jesus - which we are told to concentrate on.
My dear sister Becka went to a Christian missions training camp back in the early 1980's, she was going to serve in the underground church in Albania. She called me up so excited one night because she was learning about Spiritual Warfare and shared all. Now, I had never heard of such a thing, but I knew what she shared was in direct opposition to what the Bible tells us: flee from evil! This group was trying to hunt down Satan and make his efforts harder by turning people to God. My Bible tells me that Satan is an Angel and as such much more powerful than man. It would presume upon God to think He would back us up in attacking Satan, when we are told to flee from him in the first place! Hmmmmmmm ...
As for Becka, well she was ultimately defeated seeing demons behind the steering wheel of every car which got in her way on the freeway! She had taken her eyes off of God and literally was overcome by evil to such an extent that I was forced with her sister to institutionalize her and she is not "normal" to this day! So, I am leery of anyone whom tells me of their success in Spiritual Warfare, I have seen the Christian casualties and those whom are truly successful have nothing to brag about because they know the cost at which it came.
Unfortunately, for a few years, against my will, I was dragged into Spiritual Warfare. I do not care for it, I made all attempts to remain in-line Scripturally and I have to admit that there were some mighty odd encounters during that time frame which laid a very vivid foundation in me that evil is real, Satan is real and you had darn well better be drenched in Jesus blood if you expect to come out with your body, mind and soul intact!
I bang my drum against Western Theology and what America has done to destroy the Christian faith from the inside - corrupt Biblical teachers in its seminaries, publication of books for whom trees should have never died, all creating a shrinking Church because of the irrelevance of the Church today in the lives of the unbeliever (which includes most in a church service these days!). And if the Church is irrelevant, so are your testimony and witness - because the Church has nothing to offer a lost world other than promises of materialism any longer or open acceptance of your sin. Yeah, let us openly celebrate sin in the Church!
This is called the Spirit of Adultery.
The Church has left God and is following another doctrine, another god, another lover. The vast majority of what is Christendom today will not fare well before God come judgment day I fear.
Anyone out there think they can turn an adulterous Church around? Me either, but I can and do pray for God to raise up a revival - i just do not see it happening though and I worry as to why. Is there no one gift of evangelism any longer? Is the Holy Spirit no longer moving amongst us?
There are lots of "spirits" out there. But the Bible covers what I just talked about - a corrupt people overcome by adultery to a false god (and boy do we have false gods by the handfuls these days!). In fact it would seem that most of the Ten Commandments seem to have at their heart spirits or what we can call demons.
God is concerned about Himself and His relationship to us. (idolatry)
God is concerned that we appropriately respect His image He has built into each of us. (murder, adultery, theft)
God is concerned when our focus is wrong. (pride, jealousy, envy, greed, coveting)
God is concerned that we respect marriage. (adultery)
God is concerned that we respect our bodies in purity of mind, thought and deed. (adultery)
God is concerned that we respect what is our neighbors. (adultery, theft, false testimony, coveting)
So you seeing the trend here? What are the biggies of sin before God, all can have compelling, driving spiritual forces behind them! But, you are not just suddenly afflicted out of the blue! No you actually have to ask them for their help in dragging you down, which they will do willingly - fortunately, rare is the person whom would do this willingly!
Take lying. I have known world class liars, they had NO ability not to lie, they were compelled to lie and could not understand why they always lied. It was not until I became involved in a war against evil that I suddenly understood a few things:
My father was not a liar because he lied.
My father lied because he was a liar.
The spirit which drove him was one of lies, he never recognized this because he could not understand.
He had invited that spirit to help him lie because he wanted to lie and was willing to play evil's game.
In the end he never could see because he was blinded by this spirit.
And not being a Christian, could never have free himself (or be freed) from it.
Substitute your sin of choice in here and see how it reads out:
I was not an idolator became I was proud.
I was proud in my spirit because I was an idolator.
In being proud or participating willing in sin, I set myself up for oppression by evil, in this case pride. (idolatry)
(I have to use past tense here because that was shattered in my life in January. And the one person I wish whom could understand and see this ... well I fear is past tense was well. In fact, there is so little left of old me any longer ... )
What is important to understand here is that spiritual oppression, or possession, is the direct result of willingly falling into sin. My fall was when my church turned on me and fired me as a pastor because I believed in the Holy Spirit (I refused to say the Holy Spirit was no longer active in the believer's life), my bride left me for my best friend, my friends at church abandoned me because I was in sin to had been disfellowshipped and my father believing me to be in idiot ordered me home and told me I was marrying a girl from the House of Burgundy! No, sorry no lurid tales of sin here, I was in flat out rebellion to God because He had stripped me of everything. I hated God.
And I had lots of future problems thanks to that period of "Good Bye to God".
I had to learn that there are consequences for every act of rebellion. Nothing in my life did not affect those I cared for or whom surrounded me. Sin always comes at a cost and one of them was my opening myself up to spiritual oppression.
So what to do? You are suffering in this life trapped by a spirit of "---". And not only are you not unaware of it but you have been lied to by Western Theology that you are strong enough to stand up to the very spirit which is oppressing you. You probably have no idea if you are opposed or even what it is unless you can see yourself objectively. And when you can, well, you need some Christian friends to help overcome this.
Your friends help, you are "freed", now what?
You had better be darn sure that you are now in right standing with God.
You had better be darn sure you renounce any and every sin you have ever thought of or committed, and confessed all!
You had better have someone in place to be held accountable by!
These are not trivial matters, nor to be taken lightly.
I could write so much more, this is just the basics of a world that is not well defined for us and so much garbage you can read comes from the superstitions within the Roman Catholic Church, the corrupt Western Church and Hollywood.
Stay away from sin, if you can.
If you fall back into sin, you set yourself up for failure right off the bat.
Run if you are opposed.
Stand strong if you have to face the demonic world.
Understand that you have No authority or power over the spiritual world, only Jesus does.
Remember, demonic fate was sealed long ago.
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Thursday, March 13, 2014
The Drawn Out End
Sunday, I sat through what may well have been the worse sermon every given, from any pulpit, ever, in the history of Christendom. The guest speaker completely lost it and ended up telling us about how to do a brake job on a car. My daughters both asked what on earth he was talking about, once it was over! I felt sorry for him. I am guessing he just had not prepared very well, and well, it showed.
It is Sunday of this week, I know in my heart that I have to have a talk with Gaelic Girl, a talk I really never expected to ever have. But, as you saw yesterday, I never had to have that talk, GG did. So pressure off me in one regard - my conscience is clear, sorrow in all others however. From where I was on Sunday morning though, I was seeing I had to do something I am completely opposed to and unsure how I could do this without God - and I had no idea how to ask Him to help me terminate an almost lifelong friendship. This was so close to evil, but it had to be done. And in my entire life, I have only terminated a friendship once! It is that traumatic to me!
Hebrews 4:14 - 16
I was stuck in my mind, how do I approach God and ask the unspeakable? I need God's intervention; I have no clue what to do or say. I need before God to be blameless for whatever happens, but what I knew I had to do this, and I was left with great disappointment for myself. And as the poor speaker rambled on over the differences between pads and shoes - I thought on this well timed passage. If I could not approach God, certainly Jesus would on my behalf, He might have already done so. I thought more on this. I needed knowledge, I needed wisdom, I needed intervention.
And in the back of my mind, this over powering impression from December 2011, that April 1, 2014 marked something having to do with Gaelic Girl. I even still have a copy of note I had sent to Lucinda where I told her that if is all was true, then by April 2014 would see the removal of GG from my life. I always assumed this to mean her death, because I had seen she was gone. I never could have believed back in 2011, that she would walk away / abandon / tell me to leave. Because I trusted her completely back then. Yeah, well all things change I guess. Even on Friday, I was still sure she was going to be removed by death, because even as weird as she has become, her mental illness makes it only more reasonable she would do something stupid. And stupid is not discouraged in America. And death is easier to handle than a confrontation. Yeah, I know I am a mess.
In the context of Judaism, the High Priest was the one whom could once a year go into the Holy of Holies and present the sacrifice before God's presence. I remember as a teenager, my Rabbi telling me about how they used to tie a rope around the High Priests leg so that if he died in the presence of God, due to sin, the rabbis could drag him back out by rope and find someone with fewer problems to approach God on behalf of the Jewish nation.
And Jesus was sin free, nothing keeps him from approaching God. While the High Priests on Earth lived fairly secluded lives, Jesus lived amongst us - saw, felt, did as we all do, save for being innocent in the end (unlike us!).
Therefore the High Priest, whom with fear and trembling would approach God on hand and knee in the Holy of Holies - Jesus is completely approachable, just as God is to Him.
Hmmmm, our intermediary to God, someone whom understands me as a human, because He has been there. Someone whom understands God, because He is a part of Him. He can explain what I can not. He can work this evil swirling around me, to good - albeit His good.
I turned GG and her problems over to God in 2010 because it is beyond my abilities to address, much less respond to. I grew up in a home where mental illness was a way of life. I understand it. But, I no more have the ability to do anything about the dysfunction in my parents home, than I am to address it in this home.
As it turned out, it was painful for me to endure GG's attack but God did work it out, at least from the standpoint of my conscience.
Slowly, all of the children will have to come to understand that the idea of GG and me being used in the same sentence, much less around one another, is no longer valid. For me I have no problem for the children's sake of being around GG at family events, but I know GG will. She will posture herself as the victim of my insanity. She is big on justifying everything to herself and others. Appearance as a victim has always been important to her. Whatever.
So this morning, I feel like I am on the other side of this trauma. Oh yeah, it will make most of this year to get past what must be done, but it is doable. I have no doubt there will be many more displays of mental illness and character assassinations, but it is over now inside of me.
Of course, nothing is timed so well as when you actually are in desperate need - and you suddenly find the absence of those whom you were counting on to help you get through this. It is so pronounced that I could have called this post, The Vanishing ...
It is Sunday of this week, I know in my heart that I have to have a talk with Gaelic Girl, a talk I really never expected to ever have. But, as you saw yesterday, I never had to have that talk, GG did. So pressure off me in one regard - my conscience is clear, sorrow in all others however. From where I was on Sunday morning though, I was seeing I had to do something I am completely opposed to and unsure how I could do this without God - and I had no idea how to ask Him to help me terminate an almost lifelong friendship. This was so close to evil, but it had to be done. And in my entire life, I have only terminated a friendship once! It is that traumatic to me!
Hebrews 4:14 - 16
I was stuck in my mind, how do I approach God and ask the unspeakable? I need God's intervention; I have no clue what to do or say. I need before God to be blameless for whatever happens, but what I knew I had to do this, and I was left with great disappointment for myself. And as the poor speaker rambled on over the differences between pads and shoes - I thought on this well timed passage. If I could not approach God, certainly Jesus would on my behalf, He might have already done so. I thought more on this. I needed knowledge, I needed wisdom, I needed intervention.
And in the back of my mind, this over powering impression from December 2011, that April 1, 2014 marked something having to do with Gaelic Girl. I even still have a copy of note I had sent to Lucinda where I told her that if is all was true, then by April 2014 would see the removal of GG from my life. I always assumed this to mean her death, because I had seen she was gone. I never could have believed back in 2011, that she would walk away / abandon / tell me to leave. Because I trusted her completely back then. Yeah, well all things change I guess. Even on Friday, I was still sure she was going to be removed by death, because even as weird as she has become, her mental illness makes it only more reasonable she would do something stupid. And stupid is not discouraged in America. And death is easier to handle than a confrontation. Yeah, I know I am a mess.
In the context of Judaism, the High Priest was the one whom could once a year go into the Holy of Holies and present the sacrifice before God's presence. I remember as a teenager, my Rabbi telling me about how they used to tie a rope around the High Priests leg so that if he died in the presence of God, due to sin, the rabbis could drag him back out by rope and find someone with fewer problems to approach God on behalf of the Jewish nation.
And Jesus was sin free, nothing keeps him from approaching God. While the High Priests on Earth lived fairly secluded lives, Jesus lived amongst us - saw, felt, did as we all do, save for being innocent in the end (unlike us!).
Therefore the High Priest, whom with fear and trembling would approach God on hand and knee in the Holy of Holies - Jesus is completely approachable, just as God is to Him.
Hmmmm, our intermediary to God, someone whom understands me as a human, because He has been there. Someone whom understands God, because He is a part of Him. He can explain what I can not. He can work this evil swirling around me, to good - albeit His good.
I turned GG and her problems over to God in 2010 because it is beyond my abilities to address, much less respond to. I grew up in a home where mental illness was a way of life. I understand it. But, I no more have the ability to do anything about the dysfunction in my parents home, than I am to address it in this home.
As it turned out, it was painful for me to endure GG's attack but God did work it out, at least from the standpoint of my conscience.
Slowly, all of the children will have to come to understand that the idea of GG and me being used in the same sentence, much less around one another, is no longer valid. For me I have no problem for the children's sake of being around GG at family events, but I know GG will. She will posture herself as the victim of my insanity. She is big on justifying everything to herself and others. Appearance as a victim has always been important to her. Whatever.
So this morning, I feel like I am on the other side of this trauma. Oh yeah, it will make most of this year to get past what must be done, but it is doable. I have no doubt there will be many more displays of mental illness and character assassinations, but it is over now inside of me.
Of course, nothing is timed so well as when you actually are in desperate need - and you suddenly find the absence of those whom you were counting on to help you get through this. It is so pronounced that I could have called this post, The Vanishing ...
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Listening To God
So, in our last exciting installment, Kris was once again up against the ropes and getting the snot beat out of him .... But, something intervened and Kris got to thinking about John, chapter 8 ...
As I meditated on this exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees, I could not help but focus in on two verses: 43 and 47 :
43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say.
47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.
The whole argument revolved around the Pharisees claiming to be family of Abraham, yet planning murder, and Jesus claiming to be of the family of God and claiming innocence. Neither were talking the other's language, but it was the Pharisees whom were at fault (as usual).
If you want to claim to be a child of the King, you have to be able to speak His language. Pretty simple really, you don't speak the language - you are not of the family you claim to be.
Listen to what it means to really listen to God.
Psalm 46:10 Be still and know I am God
Psalm 19:1 Heaven declares the glory of God
1. Quiet!
God is talking!
But you have to get past your distractions to hear Him!
The world
Your games
Your pleasures
You have to stop in order to listen
2. Decide!
You want to really hear what God has to say.
It must be Scripture based.
Not the world's voice.
Not your denomination's voice.
Not your pastor's voice.
Not your favorite TV/radio personality.
Not the author of some book!
It is you reading your Bible and studying!
3. Hang On!
God's Word will progress in you!
It is called growth.
There is no spiritual pill.
It all has to be learned, just like knowing His voice in the first place!
4. Stay On Target!
God's Word is Jesus, the Bible says so.
Keep the message constantly on Jesus - not religions, not denominations, not personal opinion.
The message will never violate His word - it not about spirituality.
The message is God's voice - it can only be Jesus.
*****
And so I sat and thought on this.
It made sense. I can hear because I know the language. I am frustrated with others because they have not had a chance to or choose not to learn the language of God. Driven by desires I can not understand (and really God, it is okay for me not to!). They live in a world alien to me.
And I have those I do not communicate well with. We are close and yet artificially distant. Twin sets of protection mechanisms - where none should be called for.
And I prayed for wisdom as to how to proceed.
And I prayed for knowledge to rectify the problems.
And in fear, for it equally could have gone horribly wrong, but it didn't.
And tonight I sit here in peace with at least one resolution in my life .....
As I meditated on this exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees, I could not help but focus in on two verses: 43 and 47 :
43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say.
47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.
The whole argument revolved around the Pharisees claiming to be family of Abraham, yet planning murder, and Jesus claiming to be of the family of God and claiming innocence. Neither were talking the other's language, but it was the Pharisees whom were at fault (as usual).
If you want to claim to be a child of the King, you have to be able to speak His language. Pretty simple really, you don't speak the language - you are not of the family you claim to be.
Listen to what it means to really listen to God.
Psalm 46:10 Be still and know I am God
Psalm 19:1 Heaven declares the glory of God
1. Quiet!
God is talking!
But you have to get past your distractions to hear Him!
The world
Your games
Your pleasures
You have to stop in order to listen
2. Decide!
You want to really hear what God has to say.
It must be Scripture based.
Not the world's voice.
Not your denomination's voice.
Not your pastor's voice.
Not your favorite TV/radio personality.
Not the author of some book!
It is you reading your Bible and studying!
3. Hang On!
God's Word will progress in you!
It is called growth.
There is no spiritual pill.
It all has to be learned, just like knowing His voice in the first place!
4. Stay On Target!
God's Word is Jesus, the Bible says so.
Keep the message constantly on Jesus - not religions, not denominations, not personal opinion.
The message will never violate His word - it not about spirituality.
The message is God's voice - it can only be Jesus.
*****
And so I sat and thought on this.
It made sense. I can hear because I know the language. I am frustrated with others because they have not had a chance to or choose not to learn the language of God. Driven by desires I can not understand (and really God, it is okay for me not to!). They live in a world alien to me.
And I have those I do not communicate well with. We are close and yet artificially distant. Twin sets of protection mechanisms - where none should be called for.
And I prayed for wisdom as to how to proceed.
And I prayed for knowledge to rectify the problems.
And in fear, for it equally could have gone horribly wrong, but it didn't.
And tonight I sit here in peace with at least one resolution in my life .....
Thursday, January 30, 2014
Getting Past Your Past
I had come to Seattle for spinal surgery in 1997, the world's inventor of the kind of neurosurgery I needed worked out of Swedish Hospital. My doctors only gave me a 5% chance of surviving surgery and then as a paraplegic at that. Hence why one would travel to the best of the best. So, in early 1998 I was allowed to take those first faltering steps and I went to church that week at a place near where I was staying. Everyone was friendly, everyone introduced themselves, but when this
attractive redhead said her name was "Louise" - in my mind I instantly
thought "Vonnie". Do not ask me, I often think I am crazy until proven
right even to myself later on.
Decades later, I was in Seattle and popped into that church for services and Sunday School. During the course of the class there was something said sort of inappropriately and "Louise" jumped in with both feet, swords drawn and leaving a trail of gutted men in her path. I was horrified by what she shared, no one should have suffered so. No one should continue to define themselves as the broken person they had been as a child ...
A decade later and I am back for my final cancer screening and Sunday, at that church, back in sunday school, and there is "Louise" and she had brought her mother as a visitor. Her mother was introduced and I just had to blurt out, "Louise, I know you! But your name was not Louise, nor was your hair red!" Everyone howled with laughter. So she said, "How would you know?"
"Vonnie" was a childhood friend whom I lost touch of in 1964 when my family moved to France. I liked her but lets face it a normal nine year old really does not care that much about females, especially if they are younger. However, Vonnie's mother was a teacher's assistant in my classroom in second through fourth grade! And I am sitting there seeing an ancient version of my TA! Why bring this up?
Well, Vonnie aka Louise defined herself as that 11 year old girl whom had been raped by her father for several years. She could not get past it, to her, it was all she was - a piece of meat incapable of ever trusting a man ever again, only being used. Lunch that day lost its savor, not because of what happened to her forty years earlier (which angered me) but because of whom she had become because of it.
Paul claimed he was the greatest of all sinners. Personally, I know he was a braggart, because I am the king of sinners. However, neither he nor I define ourselves by that sin life. If you are to be defined by your past, do not blame God - He came to put that past to death! It is the past - not the present and certainly holds no power over your future!
1 Timothy 1:3 - 12
Look Up!
Our hope is in God for our salvation.
Our hope is in Heaven for our future.
Jesus changes people!
Just think of Saul on the road to Damascus.
God gets the glory, God does it all!
Confess!
Admit all of the junk in your life!
The past, then the present.
Every weakness, every failure, every blasphemy against God.
(see Acts 26:9 - 11)
Trade His Mercy for Your Mess!
We are not "owed" mercy because we are ignorant.
God gives mercy to cover our messes.
Though in reality we are ignorant of the true consequences for what we do!
We receive mercy, but not because we deserve it.
God's Grace Flows Around You!
Grace is undeserved blessings.
Your past is past.
Put it at Jesus feet, turn around and walk away ...
Decades later, I was in Seattle and popped into that church for services and Sunday School. During the course of the class there was something said sort of inappropriately and "Louise" jumped in with both feet, swords drawn and leaving a trail of gutted men in her path. I was horrified by what she shared, no one should have suffered so. No one should continue to define themselves as the broken person they had been as a child ...
A decade later and I am back for my final cancer screening and Sunday, at that church, back in sunday school, and there is "Louise" and she had brought her mother as a visitor. Her mother was introduced and I just had to blurt out, "Louise, I know you! But your name was not Louise, nor was your hair red!" Everyone howled with laughter. So she said, "How would you know?"
"Vonnie" was a childhood friend whom I lost touch of in 1964 when my family moved to France. I liked her but lets face it a normal nine year old really does not care that much about females, especially if they are younger. However, Vonnie's mother was a teacher's assistant in my classroom in second through fourth grade! And I am sitting there seeing an ancient version of my TA! Why bring this up?
Well, Vonnie aka Louise defined herself as that 11 year old girl whom had been raped by her father for several years. She could not get past it, to her, it was all she was - a piece of meat incapable of ever trusting a man ever again, only being used. Lunch that day lost its savor, not because of what happened to her forty years earlier (which angered me) but because of whom she had become because of it.
Paul claimed he was the greatest of all sinners. Personally, I know he was a braggart, because I am the king of sinners. However, neither he nor I define ourselves by that sin life. If you are to be defined by your past, do not blame God - He came to put that past to death! It is the past - not the present and certainly holds no power over your future!
1 Timothy 1:3 - 12
Look Up!
Our hope is in God for our salvation.
Our hope is in Heaven for our future.
Jesus changes people!
Just think of Saul on the road to Damascus.
God gets the glory, God does it all!
Confess!
Admit all of the junk in your life!
The past, then the present.
Every weakness, every failure, every blasphemy against God.
(see Acts 26:9 - 11)
Trade His Mercy for Your Mess!
We are not "owed" mercy because we are ignorant.
God gives mercy to cover our messes.
Though in reality we are ignorant of the true consequences for what we do!
We receive mercy, but not because we deserve it.
God's Grace Flows Around You!
Grace is undeserved blessings.
Your past is past.
Put it at Jesus feet, turn around and walk away ...
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Live Without Fear
We have all of these gradient words for Christians: born again, convert, believer, follower, disciple, apostle - probably more exist, my mind is tired today.
So, we could argue that this is a growing through steps or stages kind of thing, but honestly I think that is a cop out to make excuses for all of the failures and lack of commitment we witness in the "christian" church of today. Nowhere are you called to be born again, a convert or a believer and oh, by the way, that is end for the requirement of God on you. And yet most inside this western modern "christianity" believe is to be true! God expects oh so much more ...
You are in fact to be a disciple of Jesus. You are to be someone whom not only follows Jesus, hence a follower, but you are to do as He did. This does not come naturally nor easily, but then God never said He would ever give easy assignments. He has to make a disciple out of your willingness to so. You get to learn.
As Christians, we are called to live in this world and yet not become a part of this world. What is that supposed to mean?!?!? No house, no car, no 401k, no stocks, no bonds, no marriage, no family, no anything?!?!?!?!? You would be mostly wrong - we are expected to pay our way in this world, pay for your housing, food, expenses, etc. But we are not supposed to be anything more than living in this world, not vested in it.
Of course, this means that we will have a greater requirement for dependence upon God in our daily lives. And that does not come easily - God will test you, bit by bit, it will be painful - you will question your faith - you will discover fear. And you are not to have a spirit of fear.
2 Timothy 1:8 - 14
1. We are not supposed to be ashamed!
In Jesus
In the gospel
Of the Church
Of the messenger
2. I am willing to suffer!
For God
For Jesus
For His Gospel
You are called to suffer
You are called to do God's Will
You may or may not suffer ~ that is God's plan/will/lesson for you
Suffering is a blessing.
3. I will follow!
Christianity is not a list of do's and don'ts
Christianity is history
Christianity changed the world once, it can do it again!
Know what you BELIEVE!
4. I will guard!
God will guard what we give Him
We are to guard the message of the gospel God has entrusted to us.
Today, we find ourselves caught in the perfect storm!
We live a post-Christian world because of the failure of the Christian generations before us!
Our church no longer actually believes in God's reality!
Our church no long actually believes in the power of the Holy Spirit!
Our church questions if there really was a Jesus as the Bible describes!
Our seminaries crank out non-Christians as pastors!
Our seminaries no longer teach truth of the Gospel!
Our seminaries teach man's popular doctrines of the day!
Our seminaries have abandoned Christianity.
Our pastors are beset by immorality.
Our pastors are beset by the secularness of their congregations!
Our pastors are called upon to do all WE should be doing!
So how are you going to start to make a difference in taking the world back? The answer is to end the fear reigning in your life. But you have to begin to withdraw from the world system you have been sold out to.
So, we could argue that this is a growing through steps or stages kind of thing, but honestly I think that is a cop out to make excuses for all of the failures and lack of commitment we witness in the "christian" church of today. Nowhere are you called to be born again, a convert or a believer and oh, by the way, that is end for the requirement of God on you. And yet most inside this western modern "christianity" believe is to be true! God expects oh so much more ...
You are in fact to be a disciple of Jesus. You are to be someone whom not only follows Jesus, hence a follower, but you are to do as He did. This does not come naturally nor easily, but then God never said He would ever give easy assignments. He has to make a disciple out of your willingness to so. You get to learn.
As Christians, we are called to live in this world and yet not become a part of this world. What is that supposed to mean?!?!? No house, no car, no 401k, no stocks, no bonds, no marriage, no family, no anything?!?!?!?!? You would be mostly wrong - we are expected to pay our way in this world, pay for your housing, food, expenses, etc. But we are not supposed to be anything more than living in this world, not vested in it.
Of course, this means that we will have a greater requirement for dependence upon God in our daily lives. And that does not come easily - God will test you, bit by bit, it will be painful - you will question your faith - you will discover fear. And you are not to have a spirit of fear.
2 Timothy 1:8 - 14
1. We are not supposed to be ashamed!
In Jesus
In the gospel
Of the Church
Of the messenger
2. I am willing to suffer!
For God
For Jesus
For His Gospel
You are called to suffer
You are called to do God's Will
You may or may not suffer ~ that is God's plan/will/lesson for you
Suffering is a blessing.
3. I will follow!
Christianity is not a list of do's and don'ts
Christianity is history
Christianity changed the world once, it can do it again!
Know what you BELIEVE!
4. I will guard!
God will guard what we give Him
We are to guard the message of the gospel God has entrusted to us.
Today, we find ourselves caught in the perfect storm!
We live a post-Christian world because of the failure of the Christian generations before us!
Our church no longer actually believes in God's reality!
Our church no long actually believes in the power of the Holy Spirit!
Our church questions if there really was a Jesus as the Bible describes!
Our seminaries crank out non-Christians as pastors!
Our seminaries no longer teach truth of the Gospel!
Our seminaries teach man's popular doctrines of the day!
Our seminaries have abandoned Christianity.
Our pastors are beset by immorality.
Our pastors are beset by the secularness of their congregations!
Our pastors are called upon to do all WE should be doing!
So how are you going to start to make a difference in taking the world back? The answer is to end the fear reigning in your life. But you have to begin to withdraw from the world system you have been sold out to.
(naturally, there are many specific examples of wonderful Godly men in the pastorate and a few solid seminaries as well - but I am addressing the 90%, not the 10% of what exists)
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Paul's Letter To Timothy
Paul had a special relationship with Timothy. He might have been the only father figure to Timothy, certainly he was on the only source of Hebrew teaching the lad had! So, Timothy, half Jew, half Greek, but a heart sold out to the God of his mother's people. And Paul wants him to pastor the Ephesus church and writes him a letter of instruction ...
1 Timothy 1:1-2
1 Timothy 1:1-2
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,
2 To Timothy my true son in the faith:
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.To build a strong church, you have got to take your directions from this little book. Paul had the authority of an apostle - one sent by Jesus, one whom had seen Him risen, one whom had devoted his life to the Gospel of Jesus. That authority then is of God. And as such, Paul taught, as Timothy was to, the Bible - not popular opinion. What generally got Paul in hot water and may have even brought him death at one point!
We can only find our hope in Jesus. There is no other basis for hope in this life, nor in the next. And that hope is in the resurrection from death, as demonstrated by Jesus. Not in a faster chariot, better horses, more concubines, wealth, etc - all of the things man seeks and brings sin with it!
Basing all upon Jesus, we are actually reaching ahead into the days of prophesy but also reaching back into the Torah and Jewish tradition. Did I hear someone choke out there? Yes, Christianity is supposed to be Judaism extended to the Gentile as well as the "completed" Jew! For all of the horrible theology of the western world today, the thought that salvation is not extended to the Jew is flat racist! The thought that Christianity is anything other than the continuation of what God started under Judaism can only be defended without the Bible! The Bible is clear - you as a Gentile believer have been been grafted in to the root stock of the vine God planted - His people. We are not replacements, we are not now "His People", the Jews still are! But, we have got to reach out to the Jew and show them the way back to their God!
We are to rejoice in what God has given us. And He makes available to us all we need but we often confuse desires with need and His plans. It is the self satisfying ways of Western Culture which have led today's believe away from God and into the trap of materialism and once there it is darn hard to escape! Even if your eyes are finally opened, just the task of getting out past debt can be a life long challenge.
The point of this post is that I had been speaking with a guy from my church, whom is burned out on Church, on people, on everything. Why? Because he has forgotten the basics of what the Church is based upon and now must reorient himself back to the basics. It also means he is going to be kicking some tushes at the next business meeting because we have placed encyclopedias of trash upon the very basics of what we are to be ... :)
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Born To Die
Outside of Enoch and Elijah, no one I know of has left this physical exisitence here on Earth and not had to transition through death of the physical body first. That means that all of us were born to die.
Death is a physical reality to each and everyone of us and of course in all of our schooling we never get the real class we could use like: getting through a parents' death, what are you supposed to do, how are we to face our own death?
Of course, none of us were born to die by design, no we get to thank either Adam or Eve, your choice depending on your Theology, for whom to blame. So what is the point here? I have stated a paradox.
The only human being actually born into death, was Jesus. He came because He knew He had to die. He came because without His death, all other humans would be lost in their sin. He came expressly knowing He would die.
One of my better lessons was one which I gave on a Christmas Eve, laying out Jesus' birth, everyone agreed. I layed out His reason for coming, everyone agreed. I laid out that His death was foreordained, God knew, He knew, He was going to be sacrificed - His entire reason for being born in the first place - and you would have thought me a heretic for the reception that idea drew.
Really?
The Romans really had a choice not to kill Jesus?
The Jews would really welcome Jesus as their Messiah?
Somehow mankind could choose wisely, choosing Jesus over the lure of sin?
Really?
Dutchman and I sat and talked through yesterday afternoon. His father-in-law is dying in Holland, multiple cancers, the end was written a year ago, we never thought it would take this long. Today his sister-in-law is being married by her father, perhaps his last ritual to perform.
I thought quietly back to the day Dutchman got married. Such a disaster of a day. Such a blessed day as well. Dutchman's flaming natural red afro towering over this bride and everyone else other than me (I was still 4" taller at the time!). It was hot, his youngest brother passed out.
And this giant in the Reformed Church stood there and calmly led a ceremony which basically laid out that if you toss my daughter you are going to die and I am going to ask the best man to do it! We all three laughed as the blue hairs gasped in the background.
Now he is just a part of history- but more on that when he does pass on.
I thought of my body and its not so slow failing. Yeah, like almost all other humans I have expected to die. YOLO was my motto long before those whom use this as a battle cry in this generation were ever born. Because of the past year now I can understand how true YOLO really is. Not because I have to pump up the volume of my life, but because each moment is precious - to be shared - to be lived - with the understanding that we here not for ourselves but for others and to represent Him.
This holiday, think on the shortness of this life and how fragile it really is. Perhaps you might draw the courage to witness just one more time to that aging relative, to comfort those in pain or ill health, to laugh with those in joy.
To my friend, thank you, you have brought me a joy no one would ever understand.
To my daughter, because of you God rewarded me as He probably never has done before.
To my long term friends, you are family, you are now actually loved.
To my family here and in Switzerland, my prayers and best wishes are all yours.
To my God, you sure knocked my socks off this year!
Thank you.
Merry Christmas dear reader.
Death is a physical reality to each and everyone of us and of course in all of our schooling we never get the real class we could use like: getting through a parents' death, what are you supposed to do, how are we to face our own death?
Of course, none of us were born to die by design, no we get to thank either Adam or Eve, your choice depending on your Theology, for whom to blame. So what is the point here? I have stated a paradox.
The only human being actually born into death, was Jesus. He came because He knew He had to die. He came because without His death, all other humans would be lost in their sin. He came expressly knowing He would die.
One of my better lessons was one which I gave on a Christmas Eve, laying out Jesus' birth, everyone agreed. I layed out His reason for coming, everyone agreed. I laid out that His death was foreordained, God knew, He knew, He was going to be sacrificed - His entire reason for being born in the first place - and you would have thought me a heretic for the reception that idea drew.
Really?
The Romans really had a choice not to kill Jesus?
The Jews would really welcome Jesus as their Messiah?
Somehow mankind could choose wisely, choosing Jesus over the lure of sin?
Really?
Dutchman and I sat and talked through yesterday afternoon. His father-in-law is dying in Holland, multiple cancers, the end was written a year ago, we never thought it would take this long. Today his sister-in-law is being married by her father, perhaps his last ritual to perform.
I thought quietly back to the day Dutchman got married. Such a disaster of a day. Such a blessed day as well. Dutchman's flaming natural red afro towering over this bride and everyone else other than me (I was still 4" taller at the time!). It was hot, his youngest brother passed out.
And this giant in the Reformed Church stood there and calmly led a ceremony which basically laid out that if you toss my daughter you are going to die and I am going to ask the best man to do it! We all three laughed as the blue hairs gasped in the background.
Now he is just a part of history- but more on that when he does pass on.
I thought of my body and its not so slow failing. Yeah, like almost all other humans I have expected to die. YOLO was my motto long before those whom use this as a battle cry in this generation were ever born. Because of the past year now I can understand how true YOLO really is. Not because I have to pump up the volume of my life, but because each moment is precious - to be shared - to be lived - with the understanding that we here not for ourselves but for others and to represent Him.
This holiday, think on the shortness of this life and how fragile it really is. Perhaps you might draw the courage to witness just one more time to that aging relative, to comfort those in pain or ill health, to laugh with those in joy.
To my friend, thank you, you have brought me a joy no one would ever understand.
To my daughter, because of you God rewarded me as He probably never has done before.
To my long term friends, you are family, you are now actually loved.
To my family here and in Switzerland, my prayers and best wishes are all yours.
To my God, you sure knocked my socks off this year!
Thank you.
Merry Christmas dear reader.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
The End is Near!
I have always loved End of the Earth predictions. I was in high school when Hal Lindsey came out with his "Late Great Planet Earth". I expected something on the wastage of earth resources and how to respect the planet and what it has remaining. You have to remember I was raised in Germany and one of our lessons was the consumption of earth resources - as in, World War II consumed roughly 20% of the worlds known resources at that point.
So, I was interested, I wanted to be a responsible citizen of the earth. I was stunned by what I read in those pages. Really, if you do not own a First Edition - find it, buy it, read it, it was heavily rewritten for the second edition. Why? Well, the First Edition was pretty much gloom and doom - lots of dates of wars and battles and players all leading up to the return of Jesus - as prophesied in the Bible.
Apparently, Hal was wrong or the Bible was, so his book was rewritten allowing for less Hal and more Bible - all of those dates were removed.
But, we have always had this gloom and doom approach during my adult lifetime. Why? Well it all goes back to a heretic name Dwight Pentecost, whom mentored Hal Lindsey, C.C. Carson and a host of other heretics to come out of the Dallas school of heresy. Am I being too strong here? No, the Bible calls this group: heretics, vipers, wolves, etc - we are not to have fellowship with them for they are apostate. In the pre-Christian days we were told to stone them! Yet, the Western Theology instead embraces them and welcomes them into their churches to teach and corrupt the next generation. Just in case you wonder if your bookstore, your Church, your Denomination, your Synod is Christian - easy litmus test.
So, it has been with amusement I have followed the host of predictors, each trying to out do the others and even themselves to warn, to prepare, for the end of the age. Hint: we are told we will not know when it is or when it has even started. If you disagree then you stand in contrast to the Bible - welcome to heresy...
Why bring this up today? Mostly because of the passing of Harold Camping, whom was quite active in the field of giving doom and gloom pronouncements to gullible Americans. He was rich, he had his own TV and radio networks, published magazines, spent a fortune telling everyone about one date, after another, after another .... until he figured it out. His fate of someone of any veracity was spelled out in 2011 by the world's press whom loves to pass out black eyes to other Christians, just because they are called by the same name as a wacko.....
May 19, 2011 -- Time to break out the champagne and party hats because it's that time of year once again: doomsday.
Now Judgment Day doesn't always come once a year. In fact, it's often much more frequent than that. But that doesn't mean that all apocalypses are created equal.
While waiting for the end of the world, why not take a look at some of the most famous doomsday predictions in history?
We'll begin with the most imminent doomsday prediction: May 21. Pastor Harold Camping, president of Family Radio, is convinced that, after decoding passages in the Bible, the Rapture will take place on May 21, 2011, an event ushered in by an unprecedented global earthquake. The world will cease to exist five months later on October 21, 2011.
Camping has a small, but dedicated following that feels it is their duty to warn nonbelievers of the impending apocalypse. So they travel around the country with signs, hats, painted buses and reading materials all advertising impending doom.
When asked if he had considered what he might do when May 22 rolls around, Camping told NPR: "There is no Plan B."
Despite his faith in his convictions, Camping has been wrong before. He first predicted the end of the world in 1994, which he insists was a premature assessment since he had not completed his Bible research.
And I comment on Mr. Camping for a real reason, he learned from his mistake and until yesterday, shut his mouth up and stopped giving Christianity black eyes. Of course, the damage was already done, but for him personally, he had the integrity to realize he was wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong and finally and completely wrong in what he had done.
Best of intention but still a problem. Yeah, because he realized, because he then shut up, I am thinking he was wrong, as any of us can be. But, as far as I am aware he is alone in his ability to do just that - repent and disappear in silence as we are told to. The others, well, their testimony is their heresy, for which they stand condemned, if anyone will bother to look.
So, another chapter in Western Theology comes to a close. The vipers are still with us, looking to corrupt at any opportunity. Are you sharp enough to catch them before they snare you?
So, I was interested, I wanted to be a responsible citizen of the earth. I was stunned by what I read in those pages. Really, if you do not own a First Edition - find it, buy it, read it, it was heavily rewritten for the second edition. Why? Well, the First Edition was pretty much gloom and doom - lots of dates of wars and battles and players all leading up to the return of Jesus - as prophesied in the Bible.
Apparently, Hal was wrong or the Bible was, so his book was rewritten allowing for less Hal and more Bible - all of those dates were removed.
But, we have always had this gloom and doom approach during my adult lifetime. Why? Well it all goes back to a heretic name Dwight Pentecost, whom mentored Hal Lindsey, C.C. Carson and a host of other heretics to come out of the Dallas school of heresy. Am I being too strong here? No, the Bible calls this group: heretics, vipers, wolves, etc - we are not to have fellowship with them for they are apostate. In the pre-Christian days we were told to stone them! Yet, the Western Theology instead embraces them and welcomes them into their churches to teach and corrupt the next generation. Just in case you wonder if your bookstore, your Church, your Denomination, your Synod is Christian - easy litmus test.
So, it has been with amusement I have followed the host of predictors, each trying to out do the others and even themselves to warn, to prepare, for the end of the age. Hint: we are told we will not know when it is or when it has even started. If you disagree then you stand in contrast to the Bible - welcome to heresy...
Why bring this up today? Mostly because of the passing of Harold Camping, whom was quite active in the field of giving doom and gloom pronouncements to gullible Americans. He was rich, he had his own TV and radio networks, published magazines, spent a fortune telling everyone about one date, after another, after another .... until he figured it out. His fate of someone of any veracity was spelled out in 2011 by the world's press whom loves to pass out black eyes to other Christians, just because they are called by the same name as a wacko.....
May 19, 2011 -- Time to break out the champagne and party hats because it's that time of year once again: doomsday.
Now Judgment Day doesn't always come once a year. In fact, it's often much more frequent than that. But that doesn't mean that all apocalypses are created equal.
While waiting for the end of the world, why not take a look at some of the most famous doomsday predictions in history?
We'll begin with the most imminent doomsday prediction: May 21. Pastor Harold Camping, president of Family Radio, is convinced that, after decoding passages in the Bible, the Rapture will take place on May 21, 2011, an event ushered in by an unprecedented global earthquake. The world will cease to exist five months later on October 21, 2011.
Camping has a small, but dedicated following that feels it is their duty to warn nonbelievers of the impending apocalypse. So they travel around the country with signs, hats, painted buses and reading materials all advertising impending doom.
When asked if he had considered what he might do when May 22 rolls around, Camping told NPR: "There is no Plan B."
Despite his faith in his convictions, Camping has been wrong before. He first predicted the end of the world in 1994, which he insists was a premature assessment since he had not completed his Bible research.
And I comment on Mr. Camping for a real reason, he learned from his mistake and until yesterday, shut his mouth up and stopped giving Christianity black eyes. Of course, the damage was already done, but for him personally, he had the integrity to realize he was wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong and finally and completely wrong in what he had done.
Best of intention but still a problem. Yeah, because he realized, because he then shut up, I am thinking he was wrong, as any of us can be. But, as far as I am aware he is alone in his ability to do just that - repent and disappear in silence as we are told to. The others, well, their testimony is their heresy, for which they stand condemned, if anyone will bother to look.
So, another chapter in Western Theology comes to a close. The vipers are still with us, looking to corrupt at any opportunity. Are you sharp enough to catch them before they snare you?
Friday, November 22, 2013
What The Heck?
What the heck is going on here?
As you might remember, several weeks ago I was treated to inquisition involving a long time friend of mine and his misbehaviors with the females of that church. It took me a few weeks to get past the idea that I would willing execute him for what he has done. Today, Thursday, guess what I got treated to - another inquisition!
This time, the guy was the youth pastor of my old church, at least up until three years ago, and his behaviors apparently spanned numerous churches and about 20 years!
Yeah, no one bothered to check any of his references before he was hired - he had been fired from every church he had worked for - for the same problem - inability to control himself around teenage girls! Good Lord! What has become of the church when it is too hard to check references?!?!?!?!? And too hard to let the truth be known, much less charges filed against him! Yeah, he appears to be getting away with his latest disaster as well. Grrrrrrrrrr!
I am just sickened that we can place no trust that a job search committee will return qualified candidates, we can not trust the testimony of the answers given in interviews, no one is checking references when hiring those whom will be responsible for the care of the children and the church through more destroyed lives - looses even more the right to bear Jesus' name!
We do not need a revival in this sick Western theology poisoned church - we need a full blown REVOLUTION!
Out with the seminars creating these disasters!
Out with Elderships unable to make God-ly decisions!
Out with Pastors whom can not stand up for God!
Out with Youth Workers dedicated to satisfying their carnal natures!
Out with those whom destroy others through gossip!
The whole lot of you suck!
Get out of my church!
And yeah, that is exactly how I feel on this whole subject! There is no room in God's Kingdom for these losers - and oh by the way - Jesus flat out said this at least four times I can think of! It is the doctrine of demons which allow this culture to even exist in the Church, drive men to their baser natures, destroy the lives of the innocent and reduce Jesus' life and sacrifice to a nice story but of no real relevance!
Sorry, you will get what you deserve you sham of a church! Your ministry is over. God has left you. Why do you even keep the lights on?
Now how to cause real change ... ? Another denomination? Or can a church be sued for claiming to be Christian when they no longer represent anything Christian?
I really feel pity for the likes of Hutt, Zwingli, Huss and Luther - fairly straight on men whom began a movement to bring people to God and it has grown into a forum for pedophilia ...
Where are our Christian leadership? And if their absence is indicative of something, I worry for the immediate future of Christianity.
As you might remember, several weeks ago I was treated to inquisition involving a long time friend of mine and his misbehaviors with the females of that church. It took me a few weeks to get past the idea that I would willing execute him for what he has done. Today, Thursday, guess what I got treated to - another inquisition!
This time, the guy was the youth pastor of my old church, at least up until three years ago, and his behaviors apparently spanned numerous churches and about 20 years!
Yeah, no one bothered to check any of his references before he was hired - he had been fired from every church he had worked for - for the same problem - inability to control himself around teenage girls! Good Lord! What has become of the church when it is too hard to check references?!?!?!?!? And too hard to let the truth be known, much less charges filed against him! Yeah, he appears to be getting away with his latest disaster as well. Grrrrrrrrrr!
I am just sickened that we can place no trust that a job search committee will return qualified candidates, we can not trust the testimony of the answers given in interviews, no one is checking references when hiring those whom will be responsible for the care of the children and the church through more destroyed lives - looses even more the right to bear Jesus' name!
We do not need a revival in this sick Western theology poisoned church - we need a full blown REVOLUTION!
Out with the seminars creating these disasters!
Out with Elderships unable to make God-ly decisions!
Out with Pastors whom can not stand up for God!
Out with Youth Workers dedicated to satisfying their carnal natures!
Out with those whom destroy others through gossip!
The whole lot of you suck!
Get out of my church!
And yeah, that is exactly how I feel on this whole subject! There is no room in God's Kingdom for these losers - and oh by the way - Jesus flat out said this at least four times I can think of! It is the doctrine of demons which allow this culture to even exist in the Church, drive men to their baser natures, destroy the lives of the innocent and reduce Jesus' life and sacrifice to a nice story but of no real relevance!
Sorry, you will get what you deserve you sham of a church! Your ministry is over. God has left you. Why do you even keep the lights on?
Now how to cause real change ... ? Another denomination? Or can a church be sued for claiming to be Christian when they no longer represent anything Christian?
I really feel pity for the likes of Hutt, Zwingli, Huss and Luther - fairly straight on men whom began a movement to bring people to God and it has grown into a forum for pedophilia ...
Where are our Christian leadership? And if their absence is indicative of something, I worry for the immediate future of Christianity.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Response to: A call for massive ‘Reformation’ – before it is too late.
I have no knowledge whom Andrew Strom is and it really does not matter one way or another, someone needs to reply to his list of problems within the Church, however, he shows he is a part of the problem as well - a product of the Western (American) Church and its apostate theology ... So, italicized are his words, non-italicized are mine:
It
is a sad fact that today’s church is deceiving itself in some very
crucial areas. Below are some plain facts (-absolutely true) that may
shock a few people:
1.
“Ask Jesus into our heart” is not in the Bible. Neither is “Give your
heart to the Lord”, or repeating a “sinner’s prayer”. These practices do
not exist in Scripture at all. The subject of salvation is the most
important subject in the Bible and we are being lied to about it. These
doctrines are a total fabrication. They were invented to make salvation
“quick and convenient”. Many church members today who are relying on
these things are clearly not ‘saved’ at all. (It is true, however, what has become institutionalized is the "prayer of faith"/"confession"/whatever your group calls it. There are no magic words in Christianity, but there is the requirement for the acknowledgement of your own unworthiness before God and the need/recognition of Jesus' payment made on your behalf. This is the most common error I run into in America, that you are "saved" by "the prayer" rather than by a changed heart and life!)
2. Church buildings do not exist in the Bible. They were invented around 200-300 AD, when the church was in serious decline. Only a backslidden church could fall so far away from the simplicity of the early church. Church buildings are anti-New Testament, and bring with them a host of problems and traditions. It was basically when the church fell into the hands of Rome that this concept of the “cathedral” really took over. And we are still spending millions on these monuments today.
(Not entirely true, here Strom forgets the writings of the Apostle John's disciples whom carried him from place to place, church to church, throughout Galatia. Paul wrote concerning the running of the church of both Ephesus and Corinth. There may have been some home churches but in Ephesus we have the building itself John and Timothy shepherded! The remains of the church Lazarus shepherded on Crete and the second century Basilica of Mary, the largest church ever constructed until the Romans took everything over. I imagine if I reread my archaeology works for a few hours I could find other first or second century churches we have found through digging. )
3. The “one pastor runs everything” model is totally unscriptural. Far from running everything, in the book of Acts we find the word “pastor” NOT EVEN USED ONCE. (-The early church did have strong leaders and elders. But it was never a “one man band” like we see today. And never was it so “controlling” either).
(Again, we have to remember James owned the Jerusalem church, Paul claimed primo rights to all the churches he established, Timothy was told to take the reins of Ephesus, John owned the Galatian churches at the end of the first century. Call that position what you will, but it did exist, as did the concept of Bishop. )
4. “Tithing” is not a New Testament practice at all. And it is being shamefully abused by today’s preachers. In the New Testament we are told to give cheerfully – whatever we purpose in our hearts to give. Telling people that they MUST give 10% to the church or they are “robbing God” is totally sick – and a money-grubbing way of twisting Scripture. There is no evidence that the apostles EVER preached ‘tithing’ to New Testament believers. It was clearly regarded as an Old Testament practice.
(And now we run smack into the misnomer that somehow Old Testament is Jewish and New Testament is Christian! Nothing could be any further from the truth! Both are Jewish - however, the positional opportunity was extended to the gentile believers to come into salvation through Jesus (just the same as the Jew!). There is no such thing as a "tithe" to the church any longer, however, ALL you have is expected of you by God! It is the Western (American) money grubbing belief system by which God requires nothing or little of you! If you can not give ALL you have to God, then you need to rethink your theology! Modern money grubbing apologists such as the radio "Christian" financial advisers are more interested in not trusting God than living a Scriptural life. By the way, the Jewish tithe was 33% when you include all of the fees and charges for and by the Synagog. Sorry Dave, God wants everything you have, He will curse you with what you do not willingly give ... )
5. The words “prosper” or ‘prosperity’ were NEVER used by Jesus at all – and only exist a couple of times in the entire New Testament. Yet greedy preachers have built whole kingdoms upon them. The words – “sell what you have and give to the poor” and “deceitfulness of riches” and “you cannot serve God and mammon” and “woe to you that are rich” were DEFINITELY used by Jesus and the apostles. But we don’t hear these things preached too much, do we?
(Here I agree with Strom, the entire concept of the prosperity paganism, has nothing to do with Christianity - it is a lie as old as gnosticism and almost eclipsed The Way, the original name of Christianity. Equally God is quite expressive concerning debt and getting out of it - period. And so I now wonder what his point was above about giving, unless it is just that he does not want to give to support the local church? But, even in the first century the concept of giving to the "store house" was well known.)
6. There were no Bible Colleges, Seminaries or degrees in the New Testament. The only people who seemed to have “Bible Schools” were the Scribes and Pharisees! The apostles were simple fishermen and tax collectors. It is likely that a number of them could not even read or write. What was their “qualification” for being in the ministry? Simply that they had SPENT A LOT OF TIME WITH JESUS. The fact that people expect a “professional clergy” today with degrees from Bible College has helped to make the church sicker and more unscriptural than ever. Simple humble people with a calling from God often cannot get to minister because they do not have a “piece of paper” to make them ‘qualified’. -Yet another disaster for the church.
(Partially wrong. First off, Jews were amongst the best educated cultures on earth in the first century! Both boys and girls were taught reading and writing, in the synagog. We know this from the Synagog of Gamla. Jesus taught the Apostles as well as the 120 disciples whom were with him. These went on to found their own itinerant schools to teach about Jesus. We have ample proof of this through the writings of the early church fathers. No there were no degrees, there was only the proof of your work and for some accolades by those whom were known and respected. It is a remnant of Catholicism that you have to go to school, get a degree, to share the secret knowledge, controlled by the Catholic Church. Nothing angers me more than someone educated above their abilities, pulling rank with their degrees, when they are dead wrong... And yes, I have 12 years and refused my degree - I believe in what Paul wrote - if I can not walk the talk, don't listen.)
7. There is almost no evidence whatsoever that the early church had their “main meeting” on a Sunday. They gathered together ‘from house to house’ virtually every day! There were no church buildings. They did not dress up and “go to church”. There were no denominations. There were no separate groups with different ‘labels’. They lived their lives together – all the Christians in the local area. Love and fellowship and ‘koinonia’ were as natural to them as breathing. And the apostles in Jerusalem preached every day at huge open-air gatherings. -Not “hidden away” inside four walls. This was truly a “street church” in every way.
(Here a knowledge of Biblical times comes in handy. We have already covered the concept of church. People of "The Way", had the ability to meet anytime they wanted except on Saturday because the Jews used the Synagogs then, and the early Christian leaders taught in the Synagogs. Later this was to change and the now labelled "Christian" sect were thrown out of Judaism. Some bought their old Synagogs, adding Christian symbolism as early as 70 ad. In Greece, Galatia and Rome, yes, they started in the streets, the forums and meeting halls - as well as, homes.)
8. The idea that you can replace the moving of the Holy Spirit with programs, programs and more programs just shows how low we have sunk. Man-made programs are everywhere today. The early church had much more of God and much less of ‘man’.
(Okay, Amen! Our churches are sick, driven by programs, abandoned by God - long ago. The Holy Spirit's ministry have been replaced by pragmatic business managers, power is political - not God given and the church has reaped the whirlwind for this lack of faith and false testimony.)
9. We preach a ‘humanistic’ Jesus today. -A Jesus who exists mainly for our own “happiness”. A Santa Claus who wants to rain down continual blessings upon us. A God of grace and mercy without judgement, righteousness or truth. Our gross misrepresentation of who Jesus really is, is one of the most serious offenses of the modern church. Today’s church seems to worship a “plastic” Jesus – one that she has made in her own image. What an offense to God.
(Yup again, but let me drive home the point, in case I am misunderstanding his viewpoint here. Assuming you are a Christian: when you look to see God, you are going to see Jesus. When God looks like you, it not you and your sin he gazes upon - it is Jesus He sees. You can not see God in any perspective and you are covered by Jesus blood, dripping with it, hence why God sees His son. God is a fearful and angry God, if you are not His - that means He will abandon you to torment and destruction under Satan's care if you really want to live in his world. Conversely, you want to be covered by Jesus' blood and live in that world as well - welcome to utter destruction as you are lulled to sleep by Satans' many blessings to keep you from seeing or hearing Jesus.)
A lot of preachers are well aware that there is something very wrong with the church today. They know there is little ‘fear of the Lord’. They know there is no deep repentance or deep moving of the Holy Spirit. They know that it is just the same old “game” being played every week. A lot of them are very aware of this. But they will not do anything about it. They will not rock the boat. And they will “squash” anyone who comes along trying to do something. They do not want a real “shaking”. There is too much to lose. They have their careers and their little ‘kingdoms’ at stake. This is the real truth of the matter. This is where the rubber truly meets the road.
(Remember that fear of the Lord is the BEGINNING of wisdom, not the completion of it! And yes, the modern church has been compromised by the lure of financial wealth and steady incomes. When we put money before God, we lose, not God.)
That is why God is about to bring “Great Reformation”. He will not put up with these ‘hirelings’ any longer. He will not have them as leaders over His people. A lot of them are about to “lose their heads”. They will never lead God’s people again.
This is what true ‘Reformation’ is all about. It is the process of replacing the old leadership and the old lies. -It is David taking over from ‘Saul’.
There is a ‘New Wineskin’ coming. In fact it is upon us. There is a new leadership arising – many of them trained in the ‘wilderness’ for such a time as this. The hour is now here. LET THE NEW LEADERS ARISE! The sad fact is that today’s church has sunk so low that it is almost a matter of people needing to be RESCUED OUT OF HER. I never thought I would say something as radical as that, but it is the truth.
(Nope, God is not going to bring us a reformation as long as we lack men with humble hearts, men intent upon their agendas rather than laying down a foundation of truth from God. We are surrounded by a hurting world filled with people betrayed by those they should have respected, a church whom could not and would not respond. If you want to lay it all out there - the MEN of this generation have walked away from God given roles and responsibilities and until WE reclaim that - we never will have anything other than the chaos we deserve... And yes, I dearly pray for revival, but it will only be when God moves that it will occur.)
Much of the church is living a lie. Many inside her are told continuously that they are “OK” – that they are saved and headed for heaven. Nothing could be further from the truth. Multitudes of them are headed directly for hell. The systemized LYING that is going on has deceived the leaders and the people alike. It is the blind leading the blind. We need to contend for these people – desperately. Much of the church is “lost”. They are mired in deception – an entire system of deception.
Kindest regards in Christ,
Andrew Strom
(Personal Theology is important, the contents of your theology is important, it must be based upon the Bible and not man's opinions. You must live it! Men you are judged and God calls you account both now and in eternity. So, whatcha gona do?
Same old Same is not going to work this time, unless Hell is actually your desired destination..... )
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Where Is God?
“Night, is a book by Elie Wiesel about his experience in the German
concentration camps. “One day,” writes Wiesel, “as we returned from
work, we saw three gallows… The SS [guards] seemed more preoccupied,
more worried, than usual. To hang a child in front of thousands of
onlookers was not a small matter. The head of the camp read the verdict.
All eyes were on the child. He was pale, almost calm, but he was biting
his lips as he stood in the shadow of the gallows… ‘Where is merciful
God, where is He?’ someone behind me was asking. At the signal, the
three chairs were tipped over… Then came the march past the victims. The
two men were no longer alive… The child, too light, was still
breathing… And so he remained for more than half an hour, lingering
between life and death… Behind me, I heard the same man asking: ‘For
God’s sake, where is God?’ And from within me, I heard a voice answer;
‘Where is He? This is where – hanging here from this gallows…'
Where is God when a child is shot in Newtown or hung in Auschwitz or killed in an American drone air strike or for that matter dies of cancer? I don’t know. There is no answer.
Talk of God giving humans free will and thus allowing us to face the consequences of our choices solves nothing. If the creator could intervene personally when it came to the magic tricks in the Bible like making the sun stand still for a day in a battle, he could have done something about that child gasping out his young life. He didn’t. Theology that tries to paper this horrible fact over with explanations about why there is evil is nothing but nervous blather.
But I take comfort in the fact that sometimes a person of immense courage follows Christ to a cross. Such acts point to a God that had the empathy to share our fate. Sometimes one person’s example gives me hope that following Christ might be the path that leads us out of the hell we’ve made, even if I’ll never know why we’re here in the first place, let alone why God didn’t just make things simpler, better, faster rather than taking the slow path of gradual ethical evolution."
***
If you are Christian, if you deal regularly with the unchurched, sometimes even the churched, you will hear the wail and the anger - because there is no God, because no fair God would allow ...
And how do you answer them?
When I think of my late friend Peter, telling of me of the nun Maria's plight in a Magadan death gulag ...
When I think of the 6.5 million Jews, the 7.5 million Christians executed by my father's Reich ...
When I think of Lenin and his 19 million executions to purify the land ...
When I think of the 30 million Stalin in his paranoia executed ...
When I think of Mao Tse Tung and his 32 million deaths ...
Or Pol Pot ...
Or Rwanda ...
Or Ruby Ridge, Idaho ...
Or Waco, Texas ...
Or the assassination of John F Kennedy ...
Or a record setting typhoon ...
Where is God when the millions, or even the one is crying out in their death rattle?
Where is God in the storm, the waves, the tides, the mass deaths by nature?
How can a fair God ...
And that is the rub, God is not "fair". If he was you would already be dead, as would I.
God is a "just" God, he does what is right, not what is fair.
When we see with human eyes, we are looking for fairness.
When we see with God's eyes, we are looking for justice.
And when we are judging God, we are judging by human standards, not God's standards.
Where is God? Allowing man to trash and destroy His creation, even human life. He has already provided the only standard of measure for life - the ability to stand with Him but acknowledging His son's sacrifice, at human hands.
Where is God in the storm or other natural disaster? Perhaps judging a perverse culture, perhaps destroying false witnesses, perhaps testing the faith of His people, perhaps calling His people home because it is time.
We are not smart enough to know. I can look at a culture dedicated to sexual vice and know God will call them to judgement. I can look at authorities whom are ruthless or corrupt and know that God is going to call them to account for their deeds. I do not know when, I do not know how, but anyone can read Jeremiah or Isaiah in the Bible and see that God has a standard and He was willing to use it even against His own people - to their own destruction! How much more so for a just God, to do the same to _____ (fill in the blank).
We are the creation, not the creator, we can not judge how He uses us, when he uses, where he will use us - we just have to be willing to be used, ready to be used and expect to be used. The problems arise when we say, "Well, God would never work that way!" Really? Maybe you need to study your Bible a little more closely before you side with Western (American) Culture's beliefs about God.
The real God does not cause sin, that does not mean He can not use it to His advantage. The real God does have control of everything and is more than willing to turn Satan loose upon a world unable to recognize much less fight against it without the Holy Spirit's intervention.
Everyday, in the world around you, in your daily life, God is there, God is working. Can you see Him? Can you see His handiwork? Can you show others?
But, if you are not a Christian, well, there is no requirement that God does anything in your life or around you, other than to continually offer you the chance to make your peace with Him - through you acceptance of His son's death as the payment for your doing things your way and not His. And then you get to be held accountable for having followed teachers of the truth ... (hint, we are surrounded by those quite willing to lie to us and mislead us!)
So where is God right now? Calling the hurting, the desperate to look to Him and not theirselves for the answer to their problems. Calling you to account - right now, right here ...
That does not mean you are saved from death or punishment, but it does mean there is a better way from what you knew on this Earth.
Where is God when a child is shot in Newtown or hung in Auschwitz or killed in an American drone air strike or for that matter dies of cancer? I don’t know. There is no answer.
Talk of God giving humans free will and thus allowing us to face the consequences of our choices solves nothing. If the creator could intervene personally when it came to the magic tricks in the Bible like making the sun stand still for a day in a battle, he could have done something about that child gasping out his young life. He didn’t. Theology that tries to paper this horrible fact over with explanations about why there is evil is nothing but nervous blather.
But I take comfort in the fact that sometimes a person of immense courage follows Christ to a cross. Such acts point to a God that had the empathy to share our fate. Sometimes one person’s example gives me hope that following Christ might be the path that leads us out of the hell we’ve made, even if I’ll never know why we’re here in the first place, let alone why God didn’t just make things simpler, better, faster rather than taking the slow path of gradual ethical evolution."
***
If you are Christian, if you deal regularly with the unchurched, sometimes even the churched, you will hear the wail and the anger - because there is no God, because no fair God would allow ...
And how do you answer them?
When I think of my late friend Peter, telling of me of the nun Maria's plight in a Magadan death gulag ...
When I think of the 6.5 million Jews, the 7.5 million Christians executed by my father's Reich ...
When I think of Lenin and his 19 million executions to purify the land ...
When I think of the 30 million Stalin in his paranoia executed ...
When I think of Mao Tse Tung and his 32 million deaths ...
Or Pol Pot ...
Or Rwanda ...
Or Ruby Ridge, Idaho ...
Or Waco, Texas ...
Or the assassination of John F Kennedy ...
Or a record setting typhoon ...
Where is God when the millions, or even the one is crying out in their death rattle?
Where is God in the storm, the waves, the tides, the mass deaths by nature?
How can a fair God ...
And that is the rub, God is not "fair". If he was you would already be dead, as would I.
God is a "just" God, he does what is right, not what is fair.
When we see with human eyes, we are looking for fairness.
When we see with God's eyes, we are looking for justice.
And when we are judging God, we are judging by human standards, not God's standards.
Where is God? Allowing man to trash and destroy His creation, even human life. He has already provided the only standard of measure for life - the ability to stand with Him but acknowledging His son's sacrifice, at human hands.
Where is God in the storm or other natural disaster? Perhaps judging a perverse culture, perhaps destroying false witnesses, perhaps testing the faith of His people, perhaps calling His people home because it is time.
We are not smart enough to know. I can look at a culture dedicated to sexual vice and know God will call them to judgement. I can look at authorities whom are ruthless or corrupt and know that God is going to call them to account for their deeds. I do not know when, I do not know how, but anyone can read Jeremiah or Isaiah in the Bible and see that God has a standard and He was willing to use it even against His own people - to their own destruction! How much more so for a just God, to do the same to _____ (fill in the blank).
We are the creation, not the creator, we can not judge how He uses us, when he uses, where he will use us - we just have to be willing to be used, ready to be used and expect to be used. The problems arise when we say, "Well, God would never work that way!" Really? Maybe you need to study your Bible a little more closely before you side with Western (American) Culture's beliefs about God.
The real God does not cause sin, that does not mean He can not use it to His advantage. The real God does have control of everything and is more than willing to turn Satan loose upon a world unable to recognize much less fight against it without the Holy Spirit's intervention.
Everyday, in the world around you, in your daily life, God is there, God is working. Can you see Him? Can you see His handiwork? Can you show others?
But, if you are not a Christian, well, there is no requirement that God does anything in your life or around you, other than to continually offer you the chance to make your peace with Him - through you acceptance of His son's death as the payment for your doing things your way and not His. And then you get to be held accountable for having followed teachers of the truth ... (hint, we are surrounded by those quite willing to lie to us and mislead us!)
So where is God right now? Calling the hurting, the desperate to look to Him and not theirselves for the answer to their problems. Calling you to account - right now, right here ...
That does not mean you are saved from death or punishment, but it does mean there is a better way from what you knew on this Earth.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Restarting The Church
In years past I have been critical of what the modern church has become, an embarrassment to the blood of those whom have come before us! It is to be accursed for it only stands for selfish desires, ego stroking and all of those things from the world we are called out of as Christians. Oh, and by the way, when I am using the word church, I am talking about everyone I have ever heard of or seen.
Perhaps you agree with me. Perhaps like many you have walked away in disgust. Or you are now one of the many quietly sleeping in the pews because the church no longer is serving its purpose and hence, you are not either. Have you ever thought about doing something about it?
Certainly I have thought on this a great deal, how does one, whom is nobody, kick start a dead church? (Yes, referring to corporate Christianity here!) How do you take people, whom know all of the words and yet none of the truth? Christianity has died somewhere along the way. Is it the cheap grace Dietrich Bonhoeffer feared? Is it the affluence of our culture which has removed the need for a god?
There are only two places to start. The first is with you - you need to discover the REAL God of this creation and it ain't you! He is above your wisdom, above your understanding, He exists apart from you and yet places demands upon you, He expects them to be accomplished. He gave you a book, read it, contemplate it, do it! Start with the sin in your life. Don't have any? Well, look at the unforgiveness in your life - that separates you from God. Look at your sexual resume - that also separates you from God. You have to confess everyone of those unforgivenesses in your life to God. You have to confess everyone of those sexual misbehavoriors to God. Perhaps you have a problem with murder and/or hate - yeah, that also separates you from God. Want to know more? email me.
The other place to start is with the church and for sake of this we are going to assume that those involved are already Christians. I realize there is little hope of that but we have to start somewhere.
What is the Church?
It is a business - nope
It is a building - nope.
It is the house of God - nope.
Somewhere you go - nope.
Of course these are things the world has conformed the church to and somewhere along the way, God stopped visiting. And a vacant powerless church meets regularly, no longer calling the lost to salvation, no longer training the next generation of believers, no longer understanding the real power to be found on His path.
The Church is a how we are to live, not as a business, not as a building, not as God's place or somewhere we go regularly.
It is the body of believers - sort of.
it is a family - sort of.
It is in fact you - you are a part the church. You, gathered with other believers, are the Church, together we are the Body. Consider:
Ephesians 2:19-22
Matthew 16:8
1 Peter 2:5
1 Timothy 3:14-16
The Church is not just created, it is built and we get to do the building! And when once built, our roles do not end there. We get to be what holds up the church, we are to add strength to the structure. Think in terms of columns holding up a roof or the old style buttress which allowed cathedral walls to stand to great heights!
And the basis of our Church? God, Jesus, the blood of the martyrs from antiquity through to today. These are not nameless people, they are ones whose faith allowed them to understand that they are called to be apart from the world - even to the point of death, if that is what it takes to witness to those so opposed to the Gospel of Jesus.
(Did you note there are no guidelines here? That means there is a requirement of faith, knowledge in the Gospel and a transparent willingness to live the faith and lead others Biblically!)
Perhaps you agree with me. Perhaps like many you have walked away in disgust. Or you are now one of the many quietly sleeping in the pews because the church no longer is serving its purpose and hence, you are not either. Have you ever thought about doing something about it?
Certainly I have thought on this a great deal, how does one, whom is nobody, kick start a dead church? (Yes, referring to corporate Christianity here!) How do you take people, whom know all of the words and yet none of the truth? Christianity has died somewhere along the way. Is it the cheap grace Dietrich Bonhoeffer feared? Is it the affluence of our culture which has removed the need for a god?
There are only two places to start. The first is with you - you need to discover the REAL God of this creation and it ain't you! He is above your wisdom, above your understanding, He exists apart from you and yet places demands upon you, He expects them to be accomplished. He gave you a book, read it, contemplate it, do it! Start with the sin in your life. Don't have any? Well, look at the unforgiveness in your life - that separates you from God. Look at your sexual resume - that also separates you from God. You have to confess everyone of those unforgivenesses in your life to God. You have to confess everyone of those sexual misbehavoriors to God. Perhaps you have a problem with murder and/or hate - yeah, that also separates you from God. Want to know more? email me.
The other place to start is with the church and for sake of this we are going to assume that those involved are already Christians. I realize there is little hope of that but we have to start somewhere.
What is the Church?
It is a business - nope
It is a building - nope.
It is the house of God - nope.
Somewhere you go - nope.
Of course these are things the world has conformed the church to and somewhere along the way, God stopped visiting. And a vacant powerless church meets regularly, no longer calling the lost to salvation, no longer training the next generation of believers, no longer understanding the real power to be found on His path.
The Church is a how we are to live, not as a business, not as a building, not as God's place or somewhere we go regularly.
It is the body of believers - sort of.
it is a family - sort of.
It is in fact you - you are a part the church. You, gathered with other believers, are the Church, together we are the Body. Consider:
Ephesians 2:19-22
Matthew 16:8
1 Peter 2:5
1 Timothy 3:14-16
The Church is not just created, it is built and we get to do the building! And when once built, our roles do not end there. We get to be what holds up the church, we are to add strength to the structure. Think in terms of columns holding up a roof or the old style buttress which allowed cathedral walls to stand to great heights!
And the basis of our Church? God, Jesus, the blood of the martyrs from antiquity through to today. These are not nameless people, they are ones whose faith allowed them to understand that they are called to be apart from the world - even to the point of death, if that is what it takes to witness to those so opposed to the Gospel of Jesus.
(Did you note there are no guidelines here? That means there is a requirement of faith, knowledge in the Gospel and a transparent willingness to live the faith and lead others Biblically!)
Friday, August 23, 2013
Jesus Loves Me
My favorite tee-shirt says in large letters: Jesus Loves You, But He Loves Me More!
Yeah, sort of tongue in cheek but the only way to really explain what my pastor calls "The Mystery of Kris", you see God treats me with quite some consideration. I always just figure because I am so stinking naive that I have no clue what I am really doing. Which might not be so far off.
So, I am down in Casa Adobes, north of Tucson, a few weeks ago and the little church I attend when I am there - well, something unexpected always comes up! This time around it was one death and five murders! Gees! A college age, whom murdered his parents and siblings, then took off for Vegas with the family car, best friend, a wad of cash cards and credit cards, and what on earth could have been in their minds! The single death was one of the young ladies in the church whom was an exchange student to Spain and was killed in that train crash. Wow.
And the pastor apparently became aware of a great deal of controversy in the church over this, there usually is with the American zeal for pointing self-righteous fingers and claiming that were it not for those people's sin, then they would still be alive today. Only, the Bible tells us that ALL of our days are in God's hands, from birth to death. And, whether we die in bed to a deranged relative with an axe, on a train reading a book, or even out jogging - we will die at exactly the right time. Sin or no sin, has nothing to do with the argument.
And the pastor was wise for the service was tailored completely to support his message. God was praised through hymns and readings - to emphasize HIS sovereignty. Sin was addressed, as was forgiveness and fellowship.
And then he picked up a guitar, walked down the steps to the main area and started to sing a song:
Yeah, his song was Jesus Loves Me, But He Can't Stand You.
I was dying of laughter, I honestly thought there was no breath left for me to draw!
And he closed with: "This song is what the Lord's Prayer is not about! Jesus, forgive us, gives compassion, lead us in your footsteps ... "
The sermon over - people fled the building! I sat in the back and walk pretty slow at times due to my back - the building was empty by the time I made the front door! Talk about hitting a home run there preacher! And I congratulated him on a job well done. He gave me a really funny look.
And all of this is tongue in cheek, for I know at least one whom reads this blog is not a Christian on the inside. Yes, Jesus does love you and He has an awesome plan for your life, but it might not be what you wanted or expected.....
Yeah, sort of tongue in cheek but the only way to really explain what my pastor calls "The Mystery of Kris", you see God treats me with quite some consideration. I always just figure because I am so stinking naive that I have no clue what I am really doing. Which might not be so far off.
So, I am down in Casa Adobes, north of Tucson, a few weeks ago and the little church I attend when I am there - well, something unexpected always comes up! This time around it was one death and five murders! Gees! A college age, whom murdered his parents and siblings, then took off for Vegas with the family car, best friend, a wad of cash cards and credit cards, and what on earth could have been in their minds! The single death was one of the young ladies in the church whom was an exchange student to Spain and was killed in that train crash. Wow.
And the pastor apparently became aware of a great deal of controversy in the church over this, there usually is with the American zeal for pointing self-righteous fingers and claiming that were it not for those people's sin, then they would still be alive today. Only, the Bible tells us that ALL of our days are in God's hands, from birth to death. And, whether we die in bed to a deranged relative with an axe, on a train reading a book, or even out jogging - we will die at exactly the right time. Sin or no sin, has nothing to do with the argument.
And the pastor was wise for the service was tailored completely to support his message. God was praised through hymns and readings - to emphasize HIS sovereignty. Sin was addressed, as was forgiveness and fellowship.
And then he picked up a guitar, walked down the steps to the main area and started to sing a song:
Yeah, his song was Jesus Loves Me, But He Can't Stand You.
I was dying of laughter, I honestly thought there was no breath left for me to draw!
And he closed with: "This song is what the Lord's Prayer is not about! Jesus, forgive us, gives compassion, lead us in your footsteps ... "
The sermon over - people fled the building! I sat in the back and walk pretty slow at times due to my back - the building was empty by the time I made the front door! Talk about hitting a home run there preacher! And I congratulated him on a job well done. He gave me a really funny look.
And all of this is tongue in cheek, for I know at least one whom reads this blog is not a Christian on the inside. Yes, Jesus does love you and He has an awesome plan for your life, but it might not be what you wanted or expected.....
Friday, July 19, 2013
Illustration
Since I started youth work, (back in 1974!, where have the years gone!) I have only had two kids go in full time ministry however numerous go into missions, both long and short. And I recent had the pleasure of hearing one of the ministry ones do a sermon.
He selected Mark 5:21-34, the woman with the issue of blood whom touched Jesus.
Roll the clock back to my pre-Christian days and I had been going to a Synagog for quite sometime trying to figure this whole God/Jesus thing out. The Rabbi was more than willing to work with me through the stories of Jesus - he knew them intimately well.
Now he told me that a woman having her period or with an issue of blood, such as might be caused by a cancer of some type was considered unclean and had to live to outside of the town until it was over. My knowledge of such things was not real good and I asked him if that didn't mean that women would be gone from the town quite often. He smiled and said yes, it was when men were allowed to rest. Odd comment I thought.
Now I grew up in a small German town near the French and Lux border, so I asked one of the elders if there had been any Jews in my town before the war. Apparently, there had been. So, you know my mind, I asked if women were forced to live in the fields during their time of the month. He smiled and said they had a guest house outside of town the women were sent to. Hmmm, life was different a hundred years ago it seems.
And this young man is going to talk on this quirky passage!
A woman, whom was not even supposed to be in town because she was unclean, is in the crowd, jostling for position to get close enough to Jesus to touch one of his tassels (there are four of them) which hung from the covering all men were required to wear.
And Jesus stopped and asked whom had touched her .....
Do you think Jesus knew whom had touched him?
Do you think Jesus knew why he had been touched?
Do you think Jesus wanted to make a point for some reason?
She confessed, I am sure in fear and dread. Was she going to be stoned by the crowd for what she had done? They would know of her condition and ban from being in town - and she had not only approached but also touched a Rabbi and now was speaking to him public! This kind of thing was not supposed to happen!
And Jesus did not condemn her for the breaking of the Law, nor the breaking of Talmud - instead he told her she was healed by her faith.
It was his being which healed her, she had to touch him to be healed, but it was her faith, which drove her past convention to do the unthinkable.
That is the kind of faith we each should have. Yeah healing of our problems is a very personal and important task. But, I wonder if we could have that kind of faith, to be real in our lives, for others - what might our surroundings and situations be like?
Yeah, I anticipate faith is not exactly a priority in your life. We all hop around saying we have faith but it is actually by our own power that almost everything is done. The black eyes we as Christians receive when one whom calls themselves by his name fails, proves that point. The failures in ministry ventures show the lack of faith used in how we spend his resources. The people whom trusted and then were turned off by our individual and collective failures all scream at us our lack of real faith.
Now how to realign ourselves and our thinking to place faith first and presuming upon God ending?
He selected Mark 5:21-34, the woman with the issue of blood whom touched Jesus.
Roll the clock back to my pre-Christian days and I had been going to a Synagog for quite sometime trying to figure this whole God/Jesus thing out. The Rabbi was more than willing to work with me through the stories of Jesus - he knew them intimately well.
Now he told me that a woman having her period or with an issue of blood, such as might be caused by a cancer of some type was considered unclean and had to live to outside of the town until it was over. My knowledge of such things was not real good and I asked him if that didn't mean that women would be gone from the town quite often. He smiled and said yes, it was when men were allowed to rest. Odd comment I thought.
Now I grew up in a small German town near the French and Lux border, so I asked one of the elders if there had been any Jews in my town before the war. Apparently, there had been. So, you know my mind, I asked if women were forced to live in the fields during their time of the month. He smiled and said they had a guest house outside of town the women were sent to. Hmmm, life was different a hundred years ago it seems.
And this young man is going to talk on this quirky passage!
A woman, whom was not even supposed to be in town because she was unclean, is in the crowd, jostling for position to get close enough to Jesus to touch one of his tassels (there are four of them) which hung from the covering all men were required to wear.
And Jesus stopped and asked whom had touched her .....
Do you think Jesus knew whom had touched him?
Do you think Jesus knew why he had been touched?
Do you think Jesus wanted to make a point for some reason?
She confessed, I am sure in fear and dread. Was she going to be stoned by the crowd for what she had done? They would know of her condition and ban from being in town - and she had not only approached but also touched a Rabbi and now was speaking to him public! This kind of thing was not supposed to happen!
And Jesus did not condemn her for the breaking of the Law, nor the breaking of Talmud - instead he told her she was healed by her faith.
It was his being which healed her, she had to touch him to be healed, but it was her faith, which drove her past convention to do the unthinkable.
That is the kind of faith we each should have. Yeah healing of our problems is a very personal and important task. But, I wonder if we could have that kind of faith, to be real in our lives, for others - what might our surroundings and situations be like?
Yeah, I anticipate faith is not exactly a priority in your life. We all hop around saying we have faith but it is actually by our own power that almost everything is done. The black eyes we as Christians receive when one whom calls themselves by his name fails, proves that point. The failures in ministry ventures show the lack of faith used in how we spend his resources. The people whom trusted and then were turned off by our individual and collective failures all scream at us our lack of real faith.
Now how to realign ourselves and our thinking to place faith first and presuming upon God ending?
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Being Extravagant
Thinking on John 12:1-3 and again one of my favorite people of the Bible .....
See Jesus in unpredictable places.
The Rabbis seek Jesus arrest. John 11:57
And Jesus is at the home of a leper! Is this a thanksgiving dinner?
Jesus, Simon (the healed leper), Lazarus, the disciples, Martha and Miriam (Mary).
Fall at Jesus' feet.
Martha is busy with preparations for serving the guests.
She is doing her thing.
Three time Miriam (Mary) is mentioned as being at Jesus feet:
Loving
Grieving
praising
See the big picture.
Miriam (Mary) has let her hair down, as if in mourning(?)
She anoints Jesus' feet and his hair.
As if in preparation for burial(?)
It seems she alone understood the big picture of what was going on.
In a week, Jesus would be crucified and dead!
Give only out of love.
Be willing to always give back to God, what He has already given to you.
Sponteaniously, give all you possess out of love for Jesus.
Miriam (Mary) gave out of joy for her brother's new life.
Miriam (Mary) gave out of sacrifice for her love of Jesus.
Love Jesus extravagantly!
See what He is doing!
Respond accordingly!
You will be blessed for it .....
See Jesus in unpredictable places.
The Rabbis seek Jesus arrest. John 11:57
And Jesus is at the home of a leper! Is this a thanksgiving dinner?
Jesus, Simon (the healed leper), Lazarus, the disciples, Martha and Miriam (Mary).
Fall at Jesus' feet.
Martha is busy with preparations for serving the guests.
She is doing her thing.
Three time Miriam (Mary) is mentioned as being at Jesus feet:
Loving
Grieving
praising
See the big picture.
Miriam (Mary) has let her hair down, as if in mourning(?)
She anoints Jesus' feet and his hair.
As if in preparation for burial(?)
It seems she alone understood the big picture of what was going on.
In a week, Jesus would be crucified and dead!
Give only out of love.
Be willing to always give back to God, what He has already given to you.
Sponteaniously, give all you possess out of love for Jesus.
Miriam (Mary) gave out of joy for her brother's new life.
Miriam (Mary) gave out of sacrifice for her love of Jesus.
Love Jesus extravagantly!
See what He is doing!
Respond accordingly!
You will be blessed for it .....
Friday, May 24, 2013
John 8:1-11
John 8 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Here we have the story of the Pharisees attempting to trap Jesus. A woman, caught in adultery, is brought before him. What will he do? No matter the outcome, Jesus was going down, it was a lose - lose situation the Pharisees were sure.
And yet, this passage is nowhere to be found in the oldest copies of John and yes, a copy of John is the oldest copy of any new testament text we have a copy of! So, the oldest copy of John, a fairly complete text, is missing this passage. I wonder why. Hmmmmm.
Who are the actors:
Jesus
Pharisees
Woman caught in the act of adultery
What is the situation?
Jesus is expected to condemn the woman
Pharisees obviously setting up Jesus
Woman whom has to be mighty embarassed
What happens?
Jesus challenges anyone to stone her
Pharisees, probably armed with stones, leave
Woman is told to sin no more
What is the message?
Jesus outsmarted the Pharisees, forgives sin but demands no justice
Pharisees are hard-hearted and scheming
Woman saved from certain death, forgiven
What could the purpose of this insert be?
Jesus can forgive sin
Jesus can over-ride demands for justice
Jesus is smarter than those whom oppose him
Pharisees/Judaism rejects Jesus
Pharisees seek to entrap Jesus by an un-Scriptural situation
Pharisees are ready to mete out justice
Pharisees are aware of their own sin
Pharisees are divided between the older and younger generations
Woman is sinful
Woman is to be held accountable, not man
Woman submits to Jesus
Woman is forgiven by Jesus
Woman, we assume, leaves to sin no more
So, Jesus is shown as the hero in this passage - as the Jewish hierarchy oppose him. So, there is a religious and political reference here. The Pharisees and by extension, the Jews are hard-hearted, legalistic only to their own advantage, stone throwers (murderers if you prefer).
Jesus' forgiveness of this woman's sin allows us, by extension as Christians, to know that our own adulteries are forgiven - both physically and spiritually. It is mighty tough to go through a post-Christian life without sin! It is good to know you are forgiven without compromising your Christian status. But, is that really true? (a topic for another time)
Whatever could be the point of a second to forth century insert into the book of John? Especially a story in which the Jewish leaders break their own laws in order to frame Jesus, are out maneuvered by him and the woman ends up forgiven?
Obviously, not to show the Jewish mind in its best light, not to show the Jew in the best religious light, not show the Jew is forgiven as all whom turn to Jesus are. Certainly, to show the Jew as a Law breaker, a schemer, judgmental, etc.
Was this a propaganda piece? Something to justify hunting of the Jew in Christian held lands?
But, the big thing to learn from this passage is what is forgotten: Jewish laws were not observed, Jesus did not rebuke the Pharisees for this, the woman is not given justice, nor is God's law. Remember that Jesus was buried by Jewish followers, one of them- Nicodemus is a Pharisee who is at the top of his field - think Billy Graham or other favorite Bible teacher. Not only is he a member of the Sanhedrin, he is the most renowned Bible teacher of his day. Think on that one! He became unclean because of his love for Jesus, barred from temple, no offerings possible, an outcast for at least a week from the whole of his life!
That is the real story of the Christian and the Jew - we are one and same, children of faith - a faith which man was not able to keep and so God sent the offering to pay the price for the Abrahamic Covenant. And so Jesus became that completion to both the Jew and the Gentile. No matter how you want to cut the story, salvation is offered for all whom will listen to God's quiet voice.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Contrast of The Way vs Religion
Here in the 21st century we have so badly slaughtered the definition of Christianity that I had to be creative with my title. Christianity today has become religion, so I have opted for the original term used to define Christians: The Way.
God had a plan: set apart a people, descendents of one man, to be The witness to the world of whom He is. They created a religion, forgot about Him, and became no better than the Gentiles whom surrounded them in the world. So, God, using the symbolism of a grape vine, grafted in the Gentile peoples, on to His original vine, to let them grow - for an allotted period of time. I imagine for them to become apostate as well. Welcome to the 21st century "Christian" church.
The apostasy, which has corrupted the body of our faith is no different than the same apostasy which corrupted the Jew. So, I have gone with the idea of Man's Religion, rather than saying Christianity or 21st Century, etc. What was once true of the Jew is now true of today's "Christian". Hope you enjoy the following table:
So, I think you can now see what it is I have been working through in my mind for quite sometime - man's insistence of doing things his way, always triumphs in the short term over God and His desires for us. I have tried to make this as flexible as possible to show both the failure of the Jew as well as the Christian alike in the area of faith, because there actually is only one faith - belief in God, or by default in yourself. No two ways about it. And I think you can see how what I condemn as the Western Church or American Theology, etc is solidly in the right hand corner. Sure, there are lots of reasons and excuses, but each one moves the would be believer further and further away from the God they set out to know.
What is an honest person to do? Well, you are not going to run out and find a real Christian church to join, but you might start to really live your faith and through example perhaps impact your Church and its pastor to come back to God. No, it will not be through nagging or political fighting within the Church, it will only be through your personal leadership and example to all of those around you that you will make a difference.
I dare say that should you believe you have a God-ly assembly you have found, Satan will be banging them for all they are worth. He does not need an honest church or an honest believer to deal with, he needs the church neutralized and quieted so that his plans may proceed.
We are the victors.
We each possess what is required to overcome Satan.
We each are neutralized through pragmatism to not recognize our victory.
And the Christian Church, local and worldwide shows this.
God had a plan: set apart a people, descendents of one man, to be The witness to the world of whom He is. They created a religion, forgot about Him, and became no better than the Gentiles whom surrounded them in the world. So, God, using the symbolism of a grape vine, grafted in the Gentile peoples, on to His original vine, to let them grow - for an allotted period of time. I imagine for them to become apostate as well. Welcome to the 21st century "Christian" church.
The apostasy, which has corrupted the body of our faith is no different than the same apostasy which corrupted the Jew. So, I have gone with the idea of Man's Religion, rather than saying Christianity or 21st Century, etc. What was once true of the Jew is now true of today's "Christian". Hope you enjoy the following table:
The Way
|
Man’s Religion
|
Qualified by Scripture:
|
Qualified by man’s credentials.
Approved of by:
Follows tradition to gain respect of man.
|
Qualified by Serving
|
Qualified by “good” teaching
|
Teaches Scripture
|
Teaches denomination or religious traditions
|
Agreement amongst leadership
|
Exercises veto power
|
All men participate in leadership
|
Meetings held for others to attend
|
Transparent to all
|
Dichotomy of public vs private life
|
Accessible to all
|
Community vetted for meetings
|
Responsible to God and congregation
|
Responsible to eldership hierarchy or no one
|
Disciples and motivates followers in Scripture
|
Wields power over others
|
Humility and meekness
|
Seeks approval of man
|
Seeks the kingdom of God
|
Seeks support ($$$) to finance vision
|
Makes disciples
|
Increases membership size
Makes “friends” outside of ministry for support
|
Lifts up truth
|
Lifts up tradition
|
Offers freedom from sin
|
Offers solution to cope with sin
|
Identity is in God
|
Identity is in denomination or institution
|
All are created for God’s purpose
|
We are better than “them”
|
Glories in the Kingdom of God
|
Seeks large buildings and gatherings
|
Leads by God’s spirit
|
Majority rule in leadership
|
Waits on God
|
Exercises pragmatism
|
So, I think you can now see what it is I have been working through in my mind for quite sometime - man's insistence of doing things his way, always triumphs in the short term over God and His desires for us. I have tried to make this as flexible as possible to show both the failure of the Jew as well as the Christian alike in the area of faith, because there actually is only one faith - belief in God, or by default in yourself. No two ways about it. And I think you can see how what I condemn as the Western Church or American Theology, etc is solidly in the right hand corner. Sure, there are lots of reasons and excuses, but each one moves the would be believer further and further away from the God they set out to know.
What is an honest person to do? Well, you are not going to run out and find a real Christian church to join, but you might start to really live your faith and through example perhaps impact your Church and its pastor to come back to God. No, it will not be through nagging or political fighting within the Church, it will only be through your personal leadership and example to all of those around you that you will make a difference.
I dare say that should you believe you have a God-ly assembly you have found, Satan will be banging them for all they are worth. He does not need an honest church or an honest believer to deal with, he needs the church neutralized and quieted so that his plans may proceed.
We are the victors.
We each possess what is required to overcome Satan.
We each are neutralized through pragmatism to not recognize our victory.
And the Christian Church, local and worldwide shows this.
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