Reality and Fire

Blessed are the Poor in Spirit?

2008-10-07T13:44:00.011-04:00

Go read Matthew 27.

Or, you could just read it here.

"Then Jesus shouted out again, and he released his spirit. At that moment the curtain in the sanctuary of the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, rocks split apart, and tombs opened..."

Matthew says that Jesus' spirit departed from him at the Cross.

There's an interesting point to notice, however. In the Gospel of Matthew, he never uses the word “spirit” to talk about the human idea of spirit. Ever! Every time he ever uses the word "spirit" in his Gospel, he's referring to the Holy Spirit. Therefore, he must be referring to the Holy Spirit leaving Christ. That makes sense to me, because if God turned his back on Jesus, then I don't think the Spirit would still be there.

The point of this little exegesis is to point out another question: when Jesus says "blessed are the poor in spirit," what exactly does he mean?

Let's start at the beginning of that line. I think we all know what "blessed" means, so there's no need to go there. The first word deserving of exegesis is "poor." What kind of poor is Jesus talking about? Is he talking about being economically poor and having no money? Surely not. There are people with money that love and serve God with everything they are. Some would use this as an opportunity to bring up Matthew 19, but let's not go there. That's another post for another day.

So, back to the beatitudes. We've ruled out economic poverty as the meaning of this verse. Time for a little word study! The word that would have been translated as “poor” in the Greek is synonymous with “beggar.”

Then, you take that in hand with the "spirit." He couldn't have meant the human spirit, as we've already established that Matthew doesn't use the word in that context in his Gospel. Again, he must have been referring to the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, the “poor in Spirit” would have been translated as those who beg for the Holy Spirit. God knows that we don't have a good spirit on our own. He wants to give us His spirit, the Holy Spirit. Asking for it is an admission that we can't do it on our own and that we need Him to live life. “Blessed are those who are poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.” Jesus is telling us, "Blessed are those who ask God for his Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God."

That's nuts.

That's also amazing.

Calvarminianism: A Followup, Part III

2008-06-14T22:55:00.005-04:00

Now, in my previous posts I have chronicled my mind's journey as I work my way through Calvinism and Arminianism. While purposefully avoiding Scriptural study on the matter I have worked out that Calvinism makes sense for the most part. [Arminianism makes sense too, but that's another post for another day.]

There is, however, one point that I cannot reconcile: that of irresistible grace. I can't bring myself to believe that the grace given by Christ is irresistible in my mind studies. I can't say that it is or isn't definitively; as you recall, I am going with what makes sense in my head before I go for what the Scriptures say, in an attempt to get a fuller understanding of the whole debate.

In observation of my own life and the world around me, I can't argue that the grace is irresistible. Case in point: if the grace is irresistible, how can we reconcile all the Christians that backslide/fall away/lose the faith on a regular basis?

Now, I am not saying that God can't bring them back, because I'm not one to believe that our salvation is works based. If they can fall away and go to Hell because they fell away, that makes our salvation works-based and makes their sin stronger than God and his grace. [This sounds strangely familiar...?]

I can say this because I have personally fallen away several times. I have quit chasing God with the fervor that I have once had. I have now come back to Him, but this fact definitely does not necessarily offer evidence of its irresistibility.

Some might say that the fact that I came back is evidence that the grace is irresistible, but I can't argue that the grace is irresistible for that very reason, because there are many people who I would say do not come back. They still go to Heaven, but they don't come back to serving God in their earthly lifestyle.

On top of that, some would argue the fact that you came to God in the first place is evidence of the irresistible grace. I don't think so. Some might also argue that the fact that you go to Heaven in the end is evidence of irresistible grace. I have heard this argument before, and it is amongst the most illogical arguments I have ever heard. That's a whole other point, and it's not going to cut it.

Maybe I'll get this all figured out. In the meantime, I'm going to move on. Consider this one a mark for Arminianism.

Calvarminianism: A Followup, Part II

2008-05-15T14:08:00.002-04:00

Limited atonement and unlimited atonement. The Calvinist TULIP theology holds that atonement is limited only to the elect. The Arminianist counter-theology says that atonement is unlimited to all but only does any good, if you will, for the elect.

This problem is rather difficult to solve: we've always been taught that Christ died for all, but Scripture clearly states that Christ died for the elect. [Acts 20:28, for one reference.] This is one of the first times in this Calvarminianism series that I will use Scripture exclusively rather than Scripture combined with observations, because it's impossible to observe how Christ died in the modern world.

If atonement were unlimited, God would be unable to mete out justice on those who are not elect because their sins would be atoned for. [Calvinism 4, Arminianism 1.] If Christ died for all and the atonement of that death were unlimited, the blood-screen that Christ provided for the elect would protect the non-elect from the just punishment that they deserve: an eternity in Hell. Keep in mind that all of us deserve Hell, but that some of us were elected into salvation due to God's sovereignty. If atonement were unlimited, then God would not be able to be a just God and deal out justice to those who do not trust Him or believe in Him. Limited atonement limits Christ's atonement to the elect, which therefore enables God to measure justice on those who closed their hearts to Him.

Again, I am not perfect, I am not a theologian, I do not have a doctorate, and I do not claim to have all the answers. What I have just written makes sense now, but I will continue to learn more about this subject as my study of Scripture furthers itself. In the meantime, my status as a Calvarminianist is continuing to dwindle steadily.

Times appear to be changing: currently the score is Calvinism 4, Arminianism 1. To be continued, again.

Calvarminianism: A Followup, Part I

2008-05-15T00:34:00.003-04:00

I've now been educated on Calvinism and some of its supporting Scripture, thanks to a late-night table conversation with someone who knows more about it than I do. I have now temporarily changed my views about election. I can't say permanently because I'm completely liable to change again later. However, after this conversation the concept of election has started to make more sense to me.

Election is unconditional according to Calvinism, and conditional according to Arminianism. Unconditional election holds that God in His sovereignty has elected those who will be saved, regardless of their deeds or faithfulness to Him. Conditional election, however, holds that God only elects people if they will be faithful to Him.

Keep in mind that unless otherwise stated, my views are currently based on pure observation and not on Scriptural study. In this series of posts I am going to attempt to make observations first, and then use Scripture to interpret them correctly.

In my observations, election is obviously unconditional. [Calvinism 3, Arminianism 2.] If election were only conditional, then why in the world are there Christians who have far backslidden and no longer move with God or even speak with Him? I am not, not, not condemning anyone for ever having backslidden from God. I am merely making a point.

If election is conditional, then drug addicts who see God are completely screwed. If election is conditional, then the people who accept Christ on their deathbed are completely screwed. If election is conditional, then anyone who backslides from God is completely screwed. That doesn't make sense.

Unconditional election makes more sense than conditional election. Election as a whole, however, is infinitely viewed as unjust, prejudiced and downright nonsensical. Why would a God who loves people elect certain people to be saved and disallow certain people from being saved? The answer is simple, and easily defeats all claims of injustice, prejudice and nonsense.

God has mercy on us. A just God would punish us all by banishing us all to Hell for all of eternity. A merciful God offers mercy to those who choose to take it. Obviously, we all know that there are people who are never going to get saved no matter what happens. We know this because many, many people populate Hell at this very moment. The answer is that God's election [and his sovereignty] is far sufficient to encompass all who will make the decision to trust him and take his offer of mercy. We have to trust that even though our tiny little minds can't comprehend it, our great big God who had the infinite intelligence to create the planets and the universe and every living cell and all the millions of processes that keep our lives running as they do also had the infinite intelligence to elect all who would come to Him.

Keep in mind, folks, that I am not perfect, I am not a theologian, I do not have a doctorate, and I do not claim to have all the answers. These conclusions that I have published in this article could change; they make sense to me right now, and as I learn more the views listed here could change. In the meantime, my status as a Calvarminianist is dwindling.

Currently, the score is Calvinism 3, Arminianism 2.

To be continued.

Letters by a Modern Mystic

2008-05-11T10:11:00.022-04:00

Frank Laubach was born on September 2, 1884. He was a pastor in a relatively large congregation. Right around 1930, he became dissatisfied with the fact that after more than fifteen years as a pastor, he was still not attempting to seek God's will for his life every day.

Thus, he began an experiment to see if he could keep God in his mind for one second of every minute. He chronicled the results of this experiment in a book called "Letters by a Modern Mystic." Following is a series of excerpts from this book, highlighting some of the results of his experiments. Emphasis has been added.

By the way, I found this book in my local library, and upon checking it out I discovered that it's only been checked out seven times in the last fifty years.

"For the past few days I have been experimenting in a more complete surrender than ever before. I am taking by deliberate act of will, enough time from each hour to give God much thought. Yesterday and today I have made a new adventure, which is not easy to express. I am feeling God in each movement, by an act of will – willing that He shall direct these fingers that now strike this typewriter – willing that He shall pour through my steps as I walk – willing that He shall direct my words as I speak, and my very jaws as I eat!"

"January 29, 1930 – Only one thing now
I feel simply carried along each hour, doing my part in a plan which is far beyond myself. This sense of cooperation with God in little things is what so astonishes me, for I never have felt it this way before. I need something, and turn round to find it waiting for me. I must work, to be sure, but there is God working along with me. To know this gives a sense of security and assurance for the future which is also new to my life. I seem to have to make sure of only one thing now, and every other thing “takes care of itself,” or I prefer to say what is more true, God takes care of all the rest. My part is to live this hour in continuous inner conversation with God and in perfect responsiveness to his will. To make this hour gloriously rich. This seems to be all I need think about."

"March 1, 1930 – Undiscovered continents of spiritual living
The sense of being led by an unseen hand which takes mine while another hand reaches ahead and prepares the way, grows upon me daily. I do not need to strain at all to find opportunity. It plies in upon me as the waves roll over the beach, and yet there is time to do something about each opportunity... And I must witness that people outside are treating me differently. Obstacles which I once would have regarded as insurmountable are melting away like a mirage. People are becoming friendly who suspected or neglected me. I feel, I feel like one who has had his violin out of tune with the orchestra and at last is in harmony with the music of the universe."

"March 23, 1930 - Can we think His thoughts all the time?
You and you and you and I do experience fine fresh contact with God sometimes, and do carry, out his will sometimes. One question now to be put to the test is this: Can we have that contact with God all the time? All the time awake, fall asleep in His arms, and awaken in His presence, can we attain that? Can we do His will all the time? Can we think His thoughts all the time? Or are there periods when business, and pleasures, and crowding companions must necessarily push God out of our thoughts? “Of course, that is self-evident. If one thinks of God all the time, he will never get anything else done.” So I thought too, until now, but I am changing my view. We can keep two things in mind at once. Indeed we cannot keep one thing in mind more than half a second. Mind is a flowing something. It oscillates. Concentration is merely the continuous return to the same problem from a million angles. We do not think of one thing. We always think of the relationship of at least two things, and more often of three or more things simultaneously. So my problem is this: Can I bring God back in my mind-flow every few seconds so that God shall always be in my mind as an after image, shall always be one of the elements in every concept and percept? I choose to make the rest of my life an experiment in answering this question...

Someone may be saying that this introspection and this struggle to achieve God-consciousness is abnormal and perilous. I am going to take the risks, for somebody ought to do it, in this day when psychological experimentation has given a fresh approach to our spiritual problems. If our religious premises are correct at all then this oneness with God is the most normal condition one can have. It is what made Christ, Christ. It is what St. Augustine meant when he said "Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our souls are restless until they find their rest in Thee." I do not invite anybody else to follow this arduous path. I wish many might: We need to know so much which one man alone cannot answer. For example: "Can a laboring man successfully attain this continuous surrender to God? Can a man working at a machine pray for people all day long, talk with God all day long, and at the same time do his task efficiently?" "Can a merchant do business, can an accountant keep books, ceaselessly surrendered to God?" "Can a mother wash dishes, care for the babies, continuously talking to God?" "Can a politician keep in a state of continuous contact with God, and not lose the following of the crowds?" "Can little children be taught to talk and listen to God inwardly all day long, and what is the effect upon them?" Briefly, is this a thing which the entire human race might conceivably aspire to achieve? Do we really mean what we say when we repeat "the highest end of man is to find God and to do his will" all the time?

If you are like myself this has been pretty strong diet this afternoon. It may even prove discouraging. So I will put something simpler and more attainable: "Any hour of any day may be made perfect by merely choosing. It is perfect if one looks toward God that entire hour, waiting for his leadership all through the hour and trying hard to do every tiny thing exactly as God wishes it done, as perfectly as possible. No emotions are necessary. Just the doing of God's will perfectly makes the hour a perfect one. And the results of that one perfect hour, I believe, will echo down through eternity."

"April 18, 1930 - The possession of God has caught me up
I have tasted a thrill in fellowship with God which has made anything discordant with God disgusting. This afternoon the possession of God has caught me up with such sheer joy that I thought I never had known anything like it. God was so close and so amazingly lovely that I felt like melting all over with a strange blissful contentment. Having had this experience, which comes to me now several times a week, the thrill of filth repels me, for I know its power to drag me from God. And after an hour of close friendship with God my soul feels clean, as new fallen snow."

"April 19, 1930 – Incessant submission to God has proven extremely difficult
This conscious, incessant submission to God has proven extremely difficult, and I have surrendered for the past few days. And today and yesterday I saw evidences of the result. In an effort to be witty I have said biting things which have hurt the feelings of others, and have been short and impatient. I tremble, for I have told at least one of these men of this experiment, and he will think this is the result. It is very dangerous to tell people, and yet, I must tell and I must start over now and succeed. This philosophy that one can begin all over instantly at any moment, is proving of great help.

If this record of a soul struggle to find God is to be complete it must not omit the story of difficulty and failure. I have not succeeded very well so far. This week, for example, has not been one of the finest in my life, though it has been above the average. I have to make a greater effort next week. I have undertaken something which, at my age at least, is hard, harder than I had anticipated. But I resolve not to give up the effort."

"April 22, 1930 – Open toward God and wide awake
The “experiment” is interesting, although I am not very successful, thus far. The idea of God slips out of my sight for I suppose two thirds of every day, thus far. This morning I started out fresh, by finding a rich experience of God in the sunrise. Then I tried to let Him control my hands while I was shaving and dressing and eating breakfast. Now I am trying to let God control my hands as I pound the typewriter keys. If I could keep this morning up I should have a far higher average today than I have had for some time."

"May 14, 1930 – It is working
Oh, this thing of keeping in constant touch with God, of making him the object of my thought and the companion of my conversations, is the most amazing thing I ever ran across. It is working. I cannot do it even half of a day - not yet, but I believe I shall be doing it some day for the entire day. It is a matter of acquiring a new habit of thought. Now I like God's presence so much that when for a half hour or so he slips out of mind - as he does many times a day - I feel as though I had deserted him, and as though I had lost something very precious in my life."

"May 24, 1930 - Souls dead to God look sadly out of hungry eyes
This has been a week of wonders. God is at work everywhere preparing the way for his work in Lanao. I shall tell you some of the wonders presently. But just at this moment you must hear more of this sacred evening. The day had been rich but strenuous, so I climbed "Signal Hill" back of my house talking and listening to God all the way up, all the way back, all the lovely half hour on the top. And God talked back! I let my tongue go loose and from it there flowed poetry far more beautiful than any I ever composed. It flowed without pausing and without ever a failing syllable for a half hour. I listened astonished and full of joy and gratitude. I wanted a dictaphone for I knew that I should not be able to remember it - and now I cannot. “Why,” someone may ask, “did God waste his poetry on you alone, when you could not carry it home.” You will have to ask God that question. I only know He did and I am happy in the memory."

"June 3, 1930 - Begin to build heaven
This experiment which I am trying is the most strenuous discipline which any man ever attempted. I am not succeeding in keeping God in my mind very many hours of the day, and from the point of view of experiment number one I should have to record a pretty high percentage of failure. But the other experiment - what happens when I do succeed - is so successful that it makes up for the failure of number one. God does work a change.
The moment I turn to Him it is like turning on an electric current which I feel through my whole being. I find also that the effort to keep God in my mind does something to my mind which every mind needs to have done to it. I am given something difficult enough to keep my mind with a keen edge. The constant temptation of every man is to allow his mind to grow old and lose its edge. I feel that I am perhaps more lazy mentally than the average person, and I require the very mental discipline which this constant effort affords. So my answer to my two questions to date would be

1. “Can it be done all the time?” Hardly.

2: “Does the effort help?” Tremendously. Nothing I have ever found proves such a tonic to mind and body."

This will be continued later.

Calvarminianism?

2008-05-09T02:07:00.000-04:00

John Calvin versus Jakob Arminius.

The two presented Reformation-era doctrines that divided Christians for a long time, and still do to a degree today.

Calvin presented The Five Points of Calvinism, called TULIP: Total depravity, Unconditional election, Limited atonement, Irresistible grace, and Perseverance of the saints. This acrostic argues, in order, that man is completely depraved on his own and cannot save himself, that God elects who will be saved with no respect to the life or deeds of that person, that Christ died for only the elect, that God's grace is irresistible to the elect, and that once an elected person is saved that they will always be saved.

Arminius, on the other hand, affirmed one point and repudiated the rest: conditional election, unlimited atonement, total depravity, resistible grace, and conditional perseverance. These articles argued, again in order, that God's election was only to those whom He knew would be faithful to Him, that atonement is unlimited to all but only affects the elect, that man is completely depraved [as in Calvinism,] that God's grace is resistible thanks to free will, and that perseverance of the saints is conditional to their remained faithfulness to God.

Some of these points, in my personal, uneducated, un-doctorated opinion, contradict each other. For instance, it appears to me that conditional election and limited atonement would go together, rather than opposing each other. On top of this, I can't help but wonder if either Calvinists or Arminianists are entirely correct in their views; is it possible that the "correct answer" lies somewhere in a marriage of the two?

I am not entirely decided on my opinions on these, and this is going to be an ongoing series of posts as I determine my views, but as it stands this evening I think my beliefs are as follows: election is nonexistent, atonement is unlimited, man is totally depraved, grace is resistible and the saints are preserved indefinitely.

Does that make me a Calvarminianist?

Don't quote me on that.

I hate....

2008-03-03T14:23:00.008-05:00

having to clarify myself. Folks have read my articles and claimed that I'm saying that you shouldn't go to church, or that I'm giving people permission to drink and smoke.

These people need to read more clearly.

I didn't say not to go to church. I didn't say that church attendance is outdated or unimportant. I merely made the point that you are no less of a Christian if you don't go to every weekly service and event. Personally, I attend church every week for a variety of reasons, but rest assured, believing that I'm going to Hell if I don't go is not one of them.

The flu just hit pretty hard around here, and I got sick on a Thursday night. I stayed at home all day Friday and Saturday, unable to speak clearly and coughing constantly. By Sunday morning, I could talk again but I was still coughing and did not want to spread the virus/bacteria/whatever [you can tell that I'm not a science major] to my fellow church-goers. Fast-forward 100 years when I've just died and I'm standing before God. He says, "I would let you in, but back in 2008 you got sick and didn't go to church on a Sunday. Sorry!"

Wait. What in the...? Because I was sick and didn't go to church one day, I'm going to burn in Hell for all eternity? I don't think so. If you believe this way, you are devaluing the abounding grace and mercy of God Himself. Surely you haven't attended church every Sunday for your whole life; by your own judgment, you have just rendered yourself into Hell the same way you rendered me. On top of that, I can't bring myself to believe that I can do something or not do something and go to Hell for it. Salvation is supposed to be unconditional, and not based on any action of our own aside from believing in God; if I can gain my salvation for going to church every Sunday, or any other works, then that would mean that I could do something to lose it.

Speaking of judging, there was a reason why the Bible said,"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." This is not saying that you should not judge people. There are instances in which you must judge people and places and make decisions based on this; if you did not judge a partygoer's behavior, you wouldn't see that he was drunk at the time and you would get into a car with him driving! This is saying that when you judge someone, the way you judge is going to be the same way that you are judged. But, that verse is a different rant for a different day.

I'm going to continue my clarification of myself on a later day, despite my distaste for self-clarification. It's like quoting yourself: "Well according to established psychologist Dr. PJ McDoogal, the human brain works in a self-promoting way. Hey, what do you know? I'm Dr. PJ McDoogal!"

Can you see how ridiculous that is?

This was supposed to be...

2008-01-27T19:44:00.000-05:00

a five-days-a-week blog.

You see how well that turned out?

Legalist!

2007-11-28T14:27:00.000-05:00

"Why don't you smoke?"
"Because the Bible says not to."
"No it doesn't."
"Yes it does."
"Where?"
"I don't know, but it's in there!"
"No it's not."

How many times has a conversation gone like this? Every time there is a debate about the sinfulness of something, it typically comes around to "because the Bible says not to."

"Why don't you rob banks for a living?"
"Because the law says not to."
"So? Does that stop the people who do it?"
"Not really. So? Why don't you rob banks for a living?"
"Because I have no desire to. If robbing banks was no longer against the law, would you do it?"
"I don't think so."

You can see how ridiculous this is. I don't avoid doing things because the Bible says not to. I avoid doing certain things because I have a personal relationship with Jesus, and He doesn't want me to do those things!

The Bible says that God gives us the desires of our hearts, but why would He do that? The Bible says that out of the heart of man comes "evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness." Why would God give us the desires of our hearts when the desires of a man's heart are clearly displayed as evil?

Ask any married couple about their personal preferences for food. One of them might say Mexican food, while the other might say Chinese. They like different things, but because they're in close relationship, their desires change to match each other. Sometimes they disagree, but they can reconcile the differences and come to an agreement. They don't suddenly get a divorce because of One Difference in their preferences for food! (Sound familiar?) So therefore, when I'm in a personal relationship with God, my desires change so that my desires match His! Then, God is more than happy to give me the desires of my heart.

There's a name for not doing things because the Bible says not to. It's legalism.

One Strike, You're Out

2007-11-27T17:02:00.000-05:00

You're at church, and you see one of your friends. You sit down with them and they start talking about some of their beliefs. All goes well until they mention that thing. You know, that One Thing that you are absolutely opposed to. All of a sudden, your opinion of them just dropped to zero. Discounting everything you ever did together, and all the things you have in common, this one thing now makes you turn your head and say, "I don't like what he said. I don't agree with that."

So now every time you see them, though you may be civil to their face, you have that thought in the back of your mind that "I don't like him because he believes in this" or "I don't like him because he supports this" or "I don't like him because he's friends with that other person." Every time their name is mentioned or they are somehow referenced, you have a near-religious check of "I don't like him."

Since when has that been a way to live your life? You are never going to agree with everyone on everything! Never. Never. NEVER. So someone believes something different than you - deal with it!

I can't stand how people form one-off opinions of those around them. You like them, or you don't like them. You may even be torn trying to decide which to do. Can you see what's wrong here?

I have a friend who is a great guy and loves God with everything he is. Many of the things I learned about God came from him. But sometimes he makes jokes about fighting you when in reality he is just messing around. The constant "You wanna fight me?" bothers me sometimes. But does that mean that I drop everything we've ever done together, all the things he's taught me, and everything else simply because he jokes about fighting?

That is one of the most short-sighted ways to live that I know of. One of your friends didn't thank you for something you did for them. You think your youth pastor's awesome, while someone else thinks he's not all that great. A friend says that one of your other friends is a bad person because they said the wrong thing once.

EVERYONE HAS THEIR FLAWS! Everyone makes mistakes! Everyone has their own beliefs, and while they may be similar to your own, they probably do not match exactly. How about we drop the "One strike, you're out" policy and learn to love people for who they are, instead of having that snide voice in your head saying "I don't like him because he does things differently than I do" all the time?

Let's do it.

Damon Thompson or: The Reason Why Church Camp Highs Wear Off

2007-11-21T11:08:00.000-05:00

In September, I got to hear Damon Thompson speak at The RAMP: Awakening here in Cleveland. Simply put, it was amazing. I have heard Damon speak live before, but there was a difference between those times and last night: the times before, I heard him from a decent distance away, because of the attendance of the meetings. Last night, I sat on the floor, within kicking distance of him. In fact, I'm not sure he didn't accidentally kick me during the service! He spoke about seeking God, and about how we have not held up our end of the bargain with God keeping his promises. It was an amazing message, and one which needed to be heard.

People in the church have started slacking on their responsibilities to God. Yet, in the midst of this, we go to God, expecting him to keep his promises, and even taking promises meant for the Apostles, and arrogantly trying to apply them to ourselves! There is a reason that 90% of the sick people we pray for in church stay sick! That reason is that we have quit holding up our end of the deal, and therefore, God has not fulfilled His end while waiting on us. We expect God to keep His promises, when we haven't even kept ours! We expect the "seed" we planted to be fruitful, but we have not taken care of all the steps along the way! We believe that "Good seed + good ground = good fruit," but this is not the case. Good seed, in good soil, in a bad environment, has the potential to waste the seed and ruin the soil!

For example, oranges are grown in Florida, in coastal soil. Those seeds are perfectly good; try taking them to Kansas, where they grow corn. The soil there is hard, rocky and black. That soil is good for growing corn, not oranges. You have a good orange seed, and you have good corn soil, but the environment is not conducive to growing oranges! Therefore, you have just wasted the seed and ruined the soil. We all get on Fire for God at meetings, conferences, and other such things; that's the seed. Then, we go back to our home soil, which is not conducive to the Fire of God, and it wastes the seed and ruins the soil. People always try to blame the lack of revival in our youth groups on a "youth camp fad." "Oh, those kids just go there for a week, and the next week, they're back doing the same old stuff." THAT'S BECAUSE THEY TRIED TO PUT THEIR BURNING SEED INTO YOUR FREEZING SOIL! You were not conducive to the move of God, and therefore, you wasted the seed that had been given to them, and ruined your own soil in the process. Soon, the cycle will start all over again.

Speaking of blame, people always pray for "revival in the churches," "revival in our schools," and other such things. They ask God to send miracles back to the church, but He never does, does He? This is in grave error, my friends! We would love to ask God to send miracles back to the church, because that makes it sound like God took them away! It makes it sound like God took them away, rather than that we quit holding up our end of the deal! When no one wanted to be holy enough to see miracles, they simply made up the doctrine and theology that Miracles went out with the Apostles! In part, they are correct, because since we have no Apostles, we have no miracles! We could quit asking God to send miracles back, and just start being the Apostles whom signs and wonders follow, but if we do that, that shows that it is our fault that they left.

Friends, we need to quit blaming God for taking away signs, wonders, and miracles! We need to quit blaming Him, and asking for Him to keep His promises to us, and start holding up our end of the deal so that He will hold up His! Only then will signs, wonders, and miracles return to the church.

Lord, I praise You because...

2007-10-25T11:26:00.000-04:00

You're a He, not an it.
You're different, and efficient.
You can't be corrected, shown up, or topped.
Your planning is perfect, and Your timing impeccable.
Your ways cannot be improved on, and are already perfect.
You are not a concept, an idea, or a keep-me-in-line-over-my-shoulder-dictator.
You are alive with feelings and love endlessly and unconditionally in this lost and dying world.

The Most Common Question

2007-10-21T22:44:00.000-04:00

One of the most common questions of new Christians is something similar to "What can I do for God?" or "How do I get closer to God?" If one were to ask these questions in the average church, youth group or Bible study, they would be bombarded with a succession of answers like "Go to every church service, and attend every event," "When you pray, make sure that God hears you, but don't be bold or forceful," or "Leave all your friends and 'old ways' or you will never be close to God like you should be." Friends, these answers are often in error, and do not show the true nature of Christianity; let's have a look at some different answers.

The most common answer to these questions is that of attending every single church service, going to every event, and being in the church every time the doors are open. Most people would say that this is absolutely indispensable to being a "true Christian," and if one does not do these things, that they are "less of a Christian" than the other person. Friends, this ought not be so. Missing a church service does not make you a bad person or anything similar. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that you must attend church every week. It does say that you should not forsake the assembling of yourselves together, but this does not imply missing one service. You're not any less of a Christian simply because you got sick one week.

One common suggestion for getting closer to God is that when you pray, you will not be heard unless you use filler words to make the prayer more "sincere" or God will not hear your prayer or answer it. This, my friends, is also in error. The Bible explicitly states that your words will not make you heard, and that people who pray in this manner will only be known for their many words, and that the Father will not answer their long-winded prayers. A short prayer of a fervent believer accomplishes much more than an hour-long prayer from someone who has little faith to accomplish it in the first place.

Another common misconception about prayer is that you must crawl to God and pray like this: "God, I know You're kind of busy, but if You don't mind, and if You want to, but only if You really want to, if You could do this for me? If You don't want to, it's okay. It's not that important..." One man said that he used to pray to God like this, and one day, God clearly spoke to him: "I am not your stepdad." He did not understand this, until God revealed to him that he often asked his stepdad for things in this manner, because his stepfather was abusive, and he did not want to invoke his wrath. God showed him that He is not like his stepdad; as a believer, he can come to God and boldly ask for the desires of his heart, and God will not get upset. We need to quit crawling to God, and come boldly before His throne!

The other common answer to such questions is that of leaving all your old ways, throwing away every earthly possession you owned that was not "of God," and essentially becoming a monk, in possession of only the barest of necessities, so as not to anger God with your "sinfulness." Becoming a Christian does not mean that every movie you own must be thrown away "in accordance with the Bible" or every music CD you own that is not explicitly Christian is not "acceptable in the eyes of God." Friends, these things only become a problem when you cannot focus on God because they stand in your way. A musician who is a Christian, but whose music might not necessarily be Christian, does not constitute sin! There are plenty of musicians out there who write from the heart, and simply because they talk about their life struggles does not make them a bad artist or a bad influence!

These suggestions will likely be met with criticism. They go against what most people are taught for their whole lives, and because they are dead-set in their beliefs, no amount of Scripture, teaching or revelation can change it for them. Friends, this is the way the Pharisees and Sadducees were. They cried for ages for the coming of the Messiah, and when He finally came, they missed Him, simply because He did not look like what they thought He should look like They missed the "Who" looking for the "It." They missed Jesus, because they were looking for so many "it-qualities" that they had always been taught would be the signs of The Messiah Jesus even told them, "On the outside, you are white-washed sepulchers, but on the inside you're dead man's bones. With your traditions, you have made the Word of God of no effect. Nothing goes into a man that can defile him, but what comes out of him defiles him. Don't you know that the religious people hate me for saying that?" What Jesus was teaching went against everything that the Pharisees and Sadducees believed, and had been taught for all their lives. Even Jesus "broke the rules" every once in the while, but these things did not make him any less like God, now did they? Of course not.

New Christians often receive these answers, and not knowing the difference, they are thrust onto a treadmill of performance, going through cycles of Inspiration, when they are "inspired" to follow these new-found "Scripture truths." The next step is that of Condemnation, when they screw up and the people who had once encouraged them come down on them for being imperfect. They eventually "rededicate" their lives to God, at which point the treadmill's cycle starts again. The thing everyone knows about a treadmill is that you never get anywhere. You will simply be re-inspired, and the church people will rally around you in support, until you mess up again. It never ends!

We have too much religious influence in this hour. We have too much man-pleasing in churches today. We need to get rid of some of that stuff, and truly get closer to God. We have so much in our way that we cannot get to God, simply because we are too busy going through the motions. We all wear a mask to please the church people, and we are always talking behind these masks. We could be talking to people, showing them Truth and leading them to the marvelous light we have found, but we are too busy pleasing each other in our traditions to reach anybody new for Jesus. It's no wonder to me that so few people actively seek God and Christianity; it's simply because they want something real, not some whitewashed, recycled garbage. The heart is desperate for something REAL! Let's take off the masks, quit pleasing each other, and start reaching people for Jesus.

Religion, Fasting, and the Supernatural Order

2007-10-19T00:05:00.008-04:00

The majority of church-goers in the world are bound. Left and right, it seems that every church is preaching Freedom; freedom from bondage, freedom from sin, and freedom from other people's opinions. On the contrary, a substantial number of churches keep their members bound by something week after week: Religion.

They often preach freedom, yet when it all boils down, many of them have NEVER had an experience with the Lord! And those of them who have, it is often drowned out in a sea of performance. Week after week of going to church, paying your tithes, fasting once a month, and going to every single church function, event and outreach makes you a "better Christian." Many of these churches also conform their members into a mentality of "No smoking, no drinking, no drugs, and no cussing; otherwise, you're not a Christian." These [fundamentalist] churches uphold a warped view of the Bible and its teachings; let's have a look at some of these warped perspectives.

One of the most popular teachings is that of "no cussing." They often look down people for being "in sin" because they say certain words that the Church believes are wrong. Their most common argument is that of Ephesians 4:29: "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but only that which is good for building up, that those who hear it may be ministered to." Apparently, in their school of thought, this "corrupt communication" is confined to an S-word, F-word and D-word, among a few others. This, my friends, is in error. Corrupt communication is not determined by Society; in fact, television censorship lets many insults fly all over every show, provided that these few words are blocked. Friends, a "word" is NOT corrupt communication; tearing people down is corrupt communication.

One passage in the Bible which you will rarely ever hear taught from a pulpit is that of Matthew 15; the reason being is because, simply put, it makes Jesus look like a jerk, and in reality, goes against most churches' beliefs of "corrupt communication." Jesus is going through a city, directly after he has just fed the 5,000 men (not counting women and children.) You can be sure that much commotion was going on in the midst of that many thousands of people; yet, the Disciples were not bothered by it in the least. However, while going through this town, there is one woman who manages to annoy the Disciples enough to ask Jesus to (more or less) shut her up. Jesus first ignores her; she is persistent, and He continues to ignore her, except this time, he explains why He is ignoring her: "I am sent only to the children of Israel." This makes Jesus look like a liar, because He was obviously not only sent to the Jews, but also to all Gentiles, as well. When the woman is still persistent, Jesus finally says to her: "It is not fit to give the children's (Jews') meat to dogs." Jesus just called her a dog!

Let's keep in mind that "dog" in this time period did NOT have the same meaning as it does today; now, this word is a simple substitute for "friend." In Jesus' time period, it is the equivalent to today's word "bitch." By most church standards, it sure looks like Jesus had used "corrupt communication," but obviously, we all know that Jesus was perfect, and that He never did any such thing; in reality, Jesus was getting this woman to dig deeper in faith, so that when He kept on ignoring her, she would not give up.

Friends, corrupt communication is NOT a word, or a phrase, or a set of words that are "bad words" or "cuss words;" it is ANYTHING that tears down the body. The Bible says that out of your mouth proceed blessings and cursings; these cursings are ANYTHING that tears down the body; "You're stupid" is just as much of a cursing as "Fuck you." We need not place emphasis on not saying these select few words; we need to place emphasis on not cursing your brothers and sisters, no matter the "severity" determined by society.

Moving on: the next most common debate is that of not drinking, smoking, or doing drugs. The Bible says that there is nothing that can go into a man that will defile him; it is what comes out of him that will defile him. A man is not defiled by smoking, drinking and drugs; these things only hurt himself. He is defiled by what comes out of his heart! The Bible says that out of the heart of man comes sexual immorality, thievery, insults, murder, licentiousness, wrath, envy, idol worship and every kind of evil thing; let's use an example:

There is a man in a town, who does not go to church, but goes out partying, drinking, smoking and doing drugs; all of these things doing him great physical harm. There is another man in a church, who does not smoke, drink, do drugs, cuss, and he always follows all the rules, yet he stands in the church tearing down another person. Who has done the greater harm here? The man who only hurt himself, or the man who tore down the Church? This brings me to my next point: one common argument for not drinking, smoking or other such things is the Bible verse that says, "Don't you know that your body is a Temple of Christ, and that He lives within you?" [1 Corinthians 6:19.] When this verse is viewed in its original context, however, it is revealed that this verse was talking about sexual immorality and in reality has nothing to do with smoking or drinking!

Rather, the man who is tearing people down is doing the greater damage here. Jesus said, "If you do these things for the least of these, you have done it for Me." This statement is not a one-way door, folks! If doing good things for people is done for Christ, then surely doing bad things to other Christians is going against Christ! This also goes for cussing or any other types of fighting and cut-downs; ANYTHING meant to come against another person is, in reality, going directly against Jesus Christ! I don't know about you, but I certainly don't want to go against the God of the Universe.

Now, keep this in mind: There are things that can go into your body which will kill you. Drugs are against the law. Drinking underage and driving while drunk are against the law. Smoking underage is also against the law. Paul himself, earlier in the passage in Corinthians, said: "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not profitable." What he's saying is that even though he can do things legally without repercussions, doing them isn't going to do him any good. Really, they would be harming him. "Even though I'm old enough to buy beer and get drunk, it's only going to kill my liver and make me look like a fool." "Even though I can go buy cigarettes and smoke them all day long, my lungs are going to hate me and I'll be on a respirator in twenty years."

What we need to be careful of is that we do not look down on someone and consider them to be in sin, simply because they smoke, drink, or cuss. We often consider these things to be sins, yet we find nowhere in the Bible that says "Do not smoke," "do not do drugs," or "do not cuss." Yet, we find it in the Bible that gossip grieves the Holy Spirit! However, if we put a gossiper next to a social drinker, or a smoker, or someone who cusses, the gossip would get a slap on the wrist, as opposed to the others, who are "living in sin" who would be thoroughly punished! According to most traditions, gossip is a drop in the bucket as opposed to the HUGE CUPFUL of someone who cusses or smokes. This is exactly what the Pharisees and Sadducees did, and Jesus himself told them: "On the outside, you are white-washed and perfect, but on the inside, you're dead man's bones! With all your traditions and ways, you have made the Word of God of no effect! Don't you know that the religious people hate me for saying that?" Friends, this ought not be so! We need to realize that these little sins, such as gossip, are the ones that could ultimately stop us from winning the race!