The Author's page

I had a dream last night.

2012-01-22T11:54:00.001-05:00

1 Kings 3:5
In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.

Isaiah 58:12
And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in.
Isaiah 61:4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.

This is a little different post for me, so please bear with me.

You see, I've been bothered of late. It seems that many of the Apostolic "old guard", so to speak, are dying off. Those great men of God that have blazed the trail ahead of us have begun to be called home in, it seems to me, record numbers. In the last few weeks, many men of God have been called to their rewards. It has caused me to begin to look around and ask, "What now"?

Who among us that are left behind will begin to stand and take their place? Who will the God of heaven tap on the shoulder and begin to work through in these last and evil days?

Our world, indeed our country, is heading down a disastrous and slippery sinful slope! Entertainment is growing more and more ungodly. Homosexuality/lesbianism, lying, cheating, cohabiting (as opposed to marriage), crime, etc are becoming the new norm. People are leaving the God of their fathers behind in record numbers in favor of sinful lifestyles that were not permitted openly just a generation or two ago.

Worse, the church in America seems to be at a total loss of how to deal with it. What are we to do? How do we stand against the rising tide of evil in our nation and world? One things for sure: business as usual isn't cutting it! We've got to make some changes in order to begin to reach this lost and undone generation we live in!

I had a dream last night that I cannot shake and don't totally understand. What I write now will be the dream and any thoughts that God gives me along the way as I write:

I was in a church (not the one I currently attend). It was a huge building. The colors were dazzling. The furnishings ornate. The choir loft was larger than many church buildings I've seen. The chairs on the large platform bore soft, velvety cushions and fancy decorative carvings. Especially the center chair that was reserved for "the pastor".

The reason I was there was two-fold. 1) My family and I had recently begun attending there at the request of the old pastor. 2) The pastor had recently died and the church body were gathering for his funeral.

I was struck by the lack of people there in the massive facility. A building that had a capacity to hold thousands, held just a mere handful of people. The though in the dream was that this was a normal crowd. The days where this place was near capacity were long forgotten "glory days". The world that numbers billions had slowly began to ignore the old church with her "old fashioned ways".

I remember passing a note to someone there. An Usher? A church board member? I'm not sure. I never saw anyone's face or noticed how they were dressed. In the note, I simply said, "We'll be glad to help anyway we are needed." When I passed the note, I was sitting in the pews with the few mourners.

The dream skips some time. Now I am "the pastor" of this huge, but largely empty facility. (Again, this is the dream, not my desire) I am way up in the side balcony looking down on the platform area. I am praying as I pace back and forth- pouring my heart out to God and asking what needs to change. Asking him how we can get the attention of the population at large that ignores this building.

He seems to draw my attention to the "pastor's chair" and says "you need to begin there and make changes to the structure. Go back to my word and reorganize according to what I will show you there."

At this point, I awakened.

Now, here are my thoughts on this so far. Any thoughts you have and wish to share, please do.

1) We, as a movement, have turned our focus away from "the people business" we are called to be in. In it's place, we have placed our focus on prosperity. The prosperity of the people, the ministry, and "the church". This prosperity is not measured by the spirituality of the people, but is measured by the money and wealth of the people involved. We have turned away from Peter's words and have begun to "suppos(e) that gain is godliness".

We build bigger and fancier edifices "to the glory of God". We have the best choirs, wearing the best robes, using the best instruments, and best equipment. We buy church vans, ostensibly to pick up "the lost", but really because we want to BE SEEN as caring for the lost. We build all the trappings to "look the part", yet when a family with a real need shows up, all we tend to do is give them some stale food and tell them, "We'll pray for you- God will make a way".

2) Our organization needs to change. Rather than the "single pastor" system we have become accustomed to, the early church seemed to lead congregations by "Elderships"- a team of elders. It's not a one man show. It's Godly men working and praying together to accomplish the will of God.

3) We need to focus on meeting the needs of sinner and saint alike. Everyone needs a real helping hand sometimes. How many folks could we win to the Lord, if we'd open up our pockets and hearts to their needs? How many folks could we keep if we focused on the needs of people rather than on the monetary needs of the facilities we populate?

4) The early church went from house to house breaking bread, the Lord adding daily such as would be saved. We need organized home study groups that will take the word of the Lord to the peoples homes, not just expect them to show up at church.

5) We do NOT need to compromise our beliefs or our holiness in order to win the lost. We do NOT become socially relevant again by giving in the the sinful ways of our culture at large. We become relevant again by standing firm in Jesus and holding out his love and life to the world.

It is God's plan to raise up a people who will shine forth his light. He desires us to live in a way that will draw folks to him, without compromising his truth.

Preach and teach the plan of salvation (Acts 2:38). Preach holiness AND forgiveness. Preach judgement AND mercy. Hold fast to ALL the principles of scripture. LIVE them to a lost and dying world. Only in this way will we see the prophesied end time harvest come to pass!

To quote and old song called "Mirror in me" (by John Chisum)- let this song be the prayer of the church of the living God:

"Mirror in me your love. Mirror in me your glory.

Reflecting in my every day, your gentleness and mercy.

Mirror in me your grace. Mirror in me compassion.

Conforming me to your image, Lord, as I gaze on you.

So fill my hand with your hands. Fill my feet with your feet.

Speak the words that I should say. Live your life through me.

Fill my mind with your mind. Fill my soul with your soul.

Show me all you really are- till I overflow."

Dating versus Courting: A Godly perspective

2012-01-17T13:58:00.000-05:00

Before I get started too deeply in this, I wish it to be known that my wife and I dated. We, like you, were raised in a culture that taught dating. We never gave it a second thought. As I've gotten older and now have two grown daughters of my own, I have begun to re-examine some things.

First of all, in the history of the western world, dating is a reletively new concept. In fact, it really only appeared as a strong cultural movement in the early 1900's- not truly becoming a cultural mainstay until the "roaring 20's". Even then, it was mainly in the big cities that tend to be more liberal than the more rural areas. By the 50's it had taken over in even those areas.

Before this, Courting had been the cultural norm. Courting allowed a perspective "couple" to get to know each other, within limits. It allowed them to not only say, "Hey, you're cute. I want to know you better". But, it also allowed a safe way for them to get to know the person behind the looks and see if the person could possible be the person God intended for them to marry.

Why do I say safe? Let me explain: In courting, there are "fences" involved to help keep the couple pure before God. Not so in dating. In courting, the couple can be alone: on the phone, online, on the front porch, at a restaurant, at church- but with none of the "chances" taken in dating. A courting couple can sit on the front porch, or in the back yard, or in the living room. However, they are never completely alone. Always, a parent, or an elder, or another responsible person is nearby. Not near enough to overhear the couples conversations, mind you. But, near enough to cause a hindrance to the raging hormones that so often take over in a "dating" relationship. There is always someone else there to help keep you accountable.

Dating, tends to be more casual. They go out to "have a good time". They like to "have someone", but still have their "freedom". It is not unsusual at all for people to date many different people at the same time, just for fun. No commitment involved. Or, commitment as long as the other person does what they want. There is WAY too much "freedom" (or so the world calls it. God calls it bondage) involved in dating. The only thing holding back a dating couple from sin, is their own tenuous hold on themselves. Most of the time, in the heat of the moment, they lose their grip on that hold.

Courting says, "Lord, they're cute. If you'll help us and give your OK, I'd like to see if this is the one for me." This isn't trying each other out. And it doesn't include sex. Sex comes AFTER marriage, not before. Living under the same roof as a couple comes AFTER marriage, not before. The conversations in courting should include how you think, how you act, how you believe. Things in common. Things different. Are these differences complimentary? Or are they deal breakers? How do you feel about children, marriage structure, money, homes, where you'd like to live, etc. Each others personal histories (good and bad).

Dating is "rolling the dice and hoping everything works out for the best".

Courting is planned, deliberate, PRAYERFUL, and thoughtful.

Irregardless of our "grown up rights", Courting is BY FAR the better way.

What about Romans 10:9?

2012-01-08T12:02:00.001-05:00

This question was asked on a Facebook page I'm part of. It's also the one of the first questions asked whenever Acts 2:38 is brought up. Br Charles Albert Johnson III gave the following answer. There's nothing I could add to this. It's the best exegesis on this subject I've seen thus far. Thanks, bro Charles, for allowing me to use this!

Before examining the ninth verse of the Chapter, let us get context by examining the first verse of the Chapter.

Romans 10:1 - Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

So Paul is addressing the Church (Brethren), folk who are already saved. Paul is addressing the Church concerning "Israel's" salvation, for they were the ones in the context in need of salvation. Therefore, we understand that Romans 10:9 is NOT addressing the Church about how they get saved, nor is it intended to communicate a generic plan of Salvation for sinners in general. Keep the Scripture in context and you won't err.

Now to the meat of the text. Paul is addressing folk who are already saved, therefore it doesn't make sense for him to be telling them how to get saved. He is, however, speaking concerning the salvation of Israel. Paul quotes the law in Deuteronomy 30 to proclaim that the "word" in that place in the law was the "word of faith" which "we preach." He is talking about the Gospel, to the Jew first (Romans 1:16).

In verse nine, Paul addresses the two main hindrances to Israel's salvation, namely confessing with the mouth the Lord Jesus and believing in His Resurrection. These two hindrances to Israel's salvation are clearly seen comparing the Scriptures.

Romans 10:9 - That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Israel's "CONFESSION" DILEMMA:

John 9:22 - These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.

John 12:42 - Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:

Israel's "UNBELIEF IN THE RESURRECTION" DILEMMA:

Matthew 28

11 Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.

12 And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,

13 Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.

14 And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.

15 So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.

Notice also it says "thou SHALT be saved," not "thou ART saved." More beyond simple confession and belief is necessary, for example, REPENTANCE is clearly necessary for salvation.

Luke 13:3 - I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Luke 13:5 - I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

If we assume that generic salvation is simple confession and belief, as per Romans 10:9, then we'd be forced to conclude that repentance is unnecessary for salvation, though Jesus said otherwise. So you see salvation in the generic sense is absolutely not what Romans 10:9 is dealing with, rather, Romans 10:9 is dealing with the salvation of unbelieving Israel, who culturally and traditionally had issues with confessing Christ (and getting excommunicated from Jewish life ie. put out of the synagogue) as Lord and believing in the Resurrection (the Jewish leadership paid off the Roman soldiers to lie and that lie was commonly reported). To interpret otherwise is error.

Paul goes on to quote Moses and Isaiah (law and the prophets) in that God would use the unbelief of the Jews to bring about the salvation of all the nations (fulfilling His promise to Abraham...father of MANY NATIONS), and for to provoke Israel in unbelief to jealousy, that some of them may be saved.

Romans 10:19 - But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.

Romans 11:11 - I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

Romans 11:14 - If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.

I pray here that I have given you accurate exegesis of the Romans 10 text, and that you have been edified to be able to provide an answer to every man concerning the faith that is in you. Let all God's people be strengthened and sharpened in Jesus' Name.

The time for renewal is now!

2012-01-08T11:27:00.000-05:00

Based on 2 Chronicles 29-32

Hezekiah became king at 25 years old. To place that age in perspective, according to "the law", you had to be at least 30 in order to be a priest in the temple. Yet, here was this "young man" who wasn't old enough for the priesthood, being tapped to become the king over God's people.

Wow! What a responsibility! He wasn't just required to see to their spiritual well being, but also their economic, legal, and physical well being.

Hezekiah was raised as a prince over Israel. He had all the luxuries that come with that title. He wore the choicest clothes, ate the best foods, was attended to by manifold servants.

But Hezekiah wasn't always raised as royalty. He was 9 years old when his father, Ahaz, became king. He watched as his father did "not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father:" For 16 years, he watched his father, the king, destroy the work of God in Israel and raise up the works of Baal.

Yet, in his mind, he remembered his Grandpa, King Jotham, who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He had 16 years to watch and compare the reigns of his Grandpa, Jotham and his father, Ahaz.

So where does a young king start? Did he start with the economy? No. Did he start with the legal system? No. Did he start with the military protection of his people? No. Does he start with the land laws of the people and any disputes there may be? No.

Of all the things he looked and saw in his new kingdom, the thing that he felt needed to be addressed before anything else, was the work of the Lord in his kingdom!

So he calls a massive overhaul of the temple. Did he make up a "new way"? No. I'm sure that, to those who had grown accustomed to Ahaz's rules, Hezekiah's ways did seem new. But, in the eyes of God, it was a return to God's ways.

He calls the priests and levites to consecrate themselves. He calls for a cleansing of the temple. He calls for a cleansing of the altar. He calls for a cleansing of the people. He calls for the tearing down the altars and groves of Baal and Ashteroth.

A massive "revival" is the result. The house of God is set in order. The people's homes are put in order. In the process, even the poor were taken care of. They sent invitations to the surrounding areas and some folks from Israel and other "Israeli" areas were brought back to God's fold.

What were the results as far as their relations to other countries? They were attacked by Sennicharab and the Assyrians come calling to attack. They blasphemed God almighty and threatened and intimidated the people of God.

Hezekiah calls a solemn assembly and asks for the Lord's help. He made ready for a strong defense, but he didn't send out the chariots to battle. He simply seeks the Lord. What happens, the Lord rewarded all of their faithfulness by fighting the battle FOR them and destroying the Assyrians- sending them fleeing without Israel having to lift a finger to fight.

The results of that were that Israel became well known and honored by the other nations- even fearing them to the point of not attacking or threatening them. Israel, over all, enjoyed relative peace (with a few "bumps in the road") for the rest of Hezekiah's 29 year reign.

What's the point of all this, br Winskie? Simply this:

Our nation has fallen into a state of deep sin. Our churches have fallen into a free spirit state of mind. Anything goes. Let's not talk about doctrine, you might offend someone. Let's not worry about God's ways of doing things, people will run away from your church. Let's just get together, "put our praise on", and enjoy the "blessings of God".

But what god is sending the blessings? Is it the one true God (Jesus)? Or is it Baal of old? People forget 1 Timothy 6: ¹Let as many servants as are under the yoke count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.

²And they that have believing masters, let them not despise them, because they are brethren; but rather do them service, because they are faithful and beloved, partakers of the benefit. These things teach and exhort.

³If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;

⁴He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,

⁵Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

Just because God heals, doesn't mean he approves of their religion, but Baal (Satan) does. Just because all your financial needs are cared for, doesn't mean that God is the one meeting those needs- but Baal sometimes is.

It's time for us, as preachers of "the Gospel of Jesus Christ", and as "children of God", to call a "solemn assembly"! It's time for us to spend time in prayer, fasting, and consecration to God. It's time for us, like Hezekiah of old, to get into the word of God. We need to compare the ways folks are doing things now, with the ways God's word says to do them- and make changes accordingly!

What will be the results? a) Right standing with God! What better result could we hope and pray for? b) Right standing with our "brothers and sisters in the Lord" (at least the ones who have returned to God, as well). c) Protection from our enemies. Not that we won't have trials and battles, but as long as we're in right relationship with God, we'll be victorious! Those battles we've been fighting for years- like Assyria attacking Israel of old- will be over! Victory will be ours!

Hezekiah took over after his father died. Look around, church. How many men of God has the Lord been calling home, lately? They've ran their races and fought their fight. Nothing against them, but I believe that God is making room for our generation to stand up and do a work WITH the Lord (not FOR the Lord). The prophesied end time revival is here and it's OUR generations time to lead the way!

Will we continue to allow the things to go on that our forefathers have allowed to creep in? Or will we, like Hezekiah, stand for righteousness and remove the evil from our midst? Will we enjoy the temporary "blessings" of Baal? Or we will enjoy the permanent blessings of Jesus? Hezekiah's epitaph was "he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord". Wake up, church! What does our generation want our epitaph to be?

Is our part of the "bride of Christ" pregnant?

2011-12-21T12:40:00.001-05:00

I'm a strange man ("peculiar", according to the scriptures). I think strange thoughts. I say strange things. I do strange things. In fact, I believe that my daughters are "normal" and respectable young ladies because they rebelled against their "strange" dad- LOL.

I had a very strange thought when I awakened this morning. I really don't know where it came from. Did I dream something and don't remember it? I'm a 46 year old Grandpa. My wife and I are not thinking about any more children- besides Grandchildren. Our daughters, who are single and live with us, are definitely not pregnant. Our oldest son has given us a wonderful Granddaughter and, we are told, will soon be providing us with a Grandson. But, I haven't thought of this in days. Still, I awakened with strange thoughts today, and thought I might share them with you. Remember: Strange thoughts.

But, here goes my rather unusual thought progression. A) When women are pregnant, it is a well known fact that they crave foods that they usually don't eat that way, and that most folks call them strange for eating that way. B) When women are pregnant, they usually become nauseated by one or more of the foods they would normally eat. C) The Church is the "bride of Christ" and is supposed to be about converting others to becoming a part of the bride of Christ themselves.

Brother Winskie, what in the world are you talking about? Let's take this one thing at a time.

The church is the "bride of Christ". Our goal is to grow the family of God. So, my questions begin here. Are we pregnant? How would we know if we, as his bride, are pregnant? Are there some signs and symptoms that we should look for as indicators? If we compare spiritual pregnancy with physical pregnancy, perhaps there are.

When a woman is pregnant, her body begins to change in preparation for the carrying of her child.

The first indicator is usually "morning sickness". Certain smells and foods seem to cause her an extreme amount of nausea. As such, she begins to avoid these things in order to avoid the nausea.

If we, as Christians, are truly preparing for the births of spiritual babies, shouldn't there begin to be an aversion to some of the things in this world that most think are "normal". Shouldn't we start to feel some convictions in our lives? Shouldn't we start being careful of the environment we allow ourselves to be involved in? Do sinful environments cause us to draw back from them because of the spiritual nausea we feel? Are there places we used to hang out at, that we wouldn't hang out there anymore? Have our reading materials and entertainment choices changed? If not, perhaps we aren't who we think we are.

As a pregnant woman progresses in her pregnancy, her clothing changes to fit her expanding body. To refuse to do this could be hazardous to both mother and baby. It can cause lack of proper feeding and circulation to the child. This can cause retardation, deformation, and even death (for both mother and child). Shouldn't the way that we dress change to fit our new situation as his bride? If we are pregnant, shouldn't our clothing change, as well? Some folks say no. Yet, if you look at their spiritual "offspring", you will see retardation and deformity, rather than a normal and healthy child of God.

Another indicator of a healthy pregnancy is cravings. The woman begins to crave things that she needs in order to care for both herself and her child. Many times these cravings seem crazy to others. Pickles and Ice cream? Are you nuts? No. Her body is letting her know that she needs the nutrients contained in those foods. It may not taste very good to her, but she eats it out of love for her child.

As a healthy pregnant bride of Christ, shouldn't we be craving things the world thinks are strange? Where is the travailing in prayer for hours for both ourselves and the lost souls we encounter? Where is the hunger for the word of God? Where is the time spent in intimacy with our husband (prayer, praise, worship, personal study), so that we can become spiritually pregnant? After all, There can be NO pregnancy without intimacy.

Do we worry about how long the service will last, or just enjoy the move of God and the seed (word) he's placing in us? Are we concerned with how we look to the world? Or do we change our appearance to please our husband and protect the coming child? Do we still hang out "at the club", or have we changed our hangouts to fit our new station as part of "the bride of Christ"? In short, Who do we really love? Our husband and the coming new born children of God? Or, ourselves and the world?

God has prophesied a wonderful end time harvest for his bride. Multitudes of new births to come. If we want to be a part of this enormous promise, perhaps we should begin to make changes to fit our new station in life. If we don't, are we really a part of his bride? Just some "strange thoughts" for us to ponder.

Sunday School

2011-12-18T19:13:00.000-05:00

Titus 2

²That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

³The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

⁴That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

⁵To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

⁶Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.

⁷In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,

⁸Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.

OK, brother Winskie. How do you get Sunday School out of that?

I realize that the early church, at least from what we can glean in the scriptures, did not have "Sunday School". I'm not saying they were wrong. All I can say is that (and I hate to say this, as it sounds like a cop out, but it really is the truth in this case) "times have changed".

In the early church, they, it seems from reading the scriptures had house to house fellowship (not in one massive building) DAILY. They even had services so long, time wise, that one young man fell asleep. From what we can glean from the scriptures, their services lasted many, many hours- not the short services we have nowadays (by comparison). The mothers didn't work outside the homes. The children didn't have 40 hours a week of forced indoctrination called "public schools", but were generally taught most things at home, until the males got to a certain age, when they began to learn a trade- either through their Father's, or through an apprenticeship, or- if the family had money and could do it- through a Rabbinical school, or some such. (Sorry for the run on sentence) The Fathers tended to work either at home (farms, etc) or very near home in the markets, etc., and tended to be around their families much more than we are now. There also weren't near as many distractions in the form of entertainment, as there is now.

The average child and adult, if they attend a church every time the doors are opened, generally has about 3 to 4 hours on Sunday, and about 2 hours during the week of biblical instruction. Some of this is taken up in praise and worship (not a bad thing, at all, but it does take up part of the church time). So, you can probably take about 2 to 3 hours away from the time involved, which leaves 3 to 4 hours a week of instruction at church.

Compare this to the 40 hours a week at school- 40-60 hours a week at work for most parents. Then, there's computer time- especially with the rise and popularity of "social media" like this site, Facebook, My space, etc. Many homes have TV's where they watch News, Sports, ungodly shows (sorry, couldn't resist the dig at the crazy programming on most channels), etc. There tends to be VERY little personal Bible Study at home, much less Family study and prayer. Of course, we all believe that this needs to change, and rightfully so. But, this is still the reality of our society.

Therefore, brethren, I truly believe that the biggest lack in the church of God today is plain, old fashioned, biblical teaching! Preaching WILL save the lost, but teaching and instruction WILL KEEP THEM SAVED! Unfortunately, in most of our churches, there are MANY subjects that are never taught at all! Acts 2:38 IS the plan of salvation. There IS only ONE GOD. And Holiness IS still necessary, though opinions vary on how to work this out. But, there is more to living for God and being a Christian than these 3 core beliefs!

Sunday school is NOT only for children. Adults need teaching too. Most "adult Sunday school" now are not a school at all. Rather, it has become another occasion for the preacher to preach his 4 or 5 pet doctrines. Most of the scriptures are ignored. There is almost no class room environment where the "students" can ask questions, make comments, or even (gasp)- respectfully disagree. All of these things are implicit in the way Jesus did things. He didn't cram his teaching down the disciples throat. He taught them and allowed them to have questions.

Children's Sunday school is NOT for teachers to be "glorified baby sitters". These teachers are to be called by God, have a burden for the pupils, and pray about what to teach and how to teach it. Presently, we have Sunday school that is geared only for kids. These classes are not set up to truly teach, but to keep them occupied while the parents are in the service! Many of these classes are now bringing videos into the class room to entertain their students, rather than to do what they should and teach them. They also now have "children's church". Not really a time to teach, but rather a time to entertain.

Church of Jesus- it's time for a change!

It is because of this that I believe and have a burden for Sunday School. What I am about to write is by NO means an all inclusive list of topics that need to be taught, but it is a sample list. Feel free to add to it. I do believe that a Godly church starts in a Godly home. But, given the realities of our world, they need to be taught how to achieve this and see that Christianity is NOT simply a religion, but is, in fact, a lifestyle built on relationship with Jesus!

Now, THIS would be my suggestion on how to organize the Sunday School. Keeping in mind the biblical passage we read above (the older men teaching the younger ones, and the older women teaching the younger ones), here is a small sample:

Nursery (ages 0-3, unless with parents) staffed on a rotational basis by praying older women.

Classes

Ages 4-6

Ages 7-9

(after this age, I believe they should be segregated by gender, depending on the class because there are many subjects that can only be taught in non-mixed audiences- and because the scriptures above suggest it.)

Ages 10-15

Ages 16-19

Adult classes

1) Young Ministers class (men only)

2) Homemaker/Housewife (women only, but probably needs a more palatable name)

3) Man of the Home class (men only)

4) Young married

5) New Convert class

6) Finances according to scripture (with emphasis on how to follow this in todays world.)

7) End Time Prophecy

8) Bible Study training (for those who feel led to teach the lost)

9) Life Issues (catch all. This would be "the main" class for those not interested in the other classes)

10) Outreach class (teaching different methods of outreach)

11) Vintage group (seniors)

12) Divorce recovery (needed in our world!)

13) A.C.T.S. class (Alcohol and Chemical Treatment System. This class is required in many states for those involved in Jail ministry. Also a great way for the church to act as a sort of "half way house" to help people get their lives straight in a legal sense and could lead many of them to Jesus. Some judges will actually order the parolees to attend the class at your church.)

14) Sewing (women only)

15) Cooking (women only)

16) A study of false doctrines, with emphasis on WHY they are false

17) Music (If a teacher(s) is(are) available in the church that is(are) willing to help the folks who'd like to learn.)

18) College/career (I'm iffy on this one, but some might want it.)

19) Biblical Courtship (needed to combat the whole "dating" scene!)

20) "Walk thru the Bible". (An excellent course [done by a trinitarian ministry, but we can get the literature and teach it ourselves.] It gives a GREAT general overview of the order of the books in the bible, while hitting a few highlights in the scriptures of events to fill out what's being learned. Even now, 21 years after I took the course, I fall back on some of the things I memorized back then in that ONE DAY COURSE to help me keep the order of the books straight in my head. Would be great for New Converts!)

21) Wilderness living (Some of you may balk at this one, depending on your end time beliefs. I believe that these skills- that include Archery Hunting, Fishing, Plant knowledge, Hiding and evasion, Cover in cold and hot weather, "Coats of skins", Safe fires, Natural dangers, Physical exercise, Rock and tree climbing, to name only a few- will be very useful to us in the coming days before the Lord returns.

22) Any other classes that you can think of.

I realize that some of these courses are not necessarily biblical, but they do relate. Also, I realize that teachers would have to rotate to keep from burning out and for them to learn other things as well. For some of these classes, we would need larger facilities and more people than most of us have at present. But, I truly believe that this is a good structure! The particulars can be done according to what we have available, as the Lord opens doors.

Also, I really believe that a structure like this would alleviate "the boredom" that some people feel in churches today and build an excitement into their walk with God. What will they learn today when they go to church? They can be free to take part in the subject of their own interest- teachers and students alike.

In short, brethren, I BELIEVE in Sunday School! In todays world it is a NEED! Given the massive amounts of subjects IN THE BIBLE that are NEVER even touched on in 99% of todays churches, I believe that it is very necessary.

God bless you. I look forward to your thoughts.

A Chronological Christmas

2011-12-11T10:35:00.001-05:00

Before I begin this post, let it be known to one and all that:

a) I do realize that Jesus was NOT born on Dec 25th.

b) I understand that Christmas was originally a pagan holiday that was "Christianized" by the Catholic church.

That having been said, it is not the purpose of this post to argue about any of that. Rather, it is the Chronology of "the Christmas story", that I wish to address.

It is currently presented via "the nativity scene" and most church plays, etc, that everything about the Christmas story took place during a few day period. Indeed, many believe all on the same night. Yet, scripturally speaking, this is simply not true. In fact, we know- at the risk of getting ahead of myself- that the wise men came to see Jesus some 2 years AFTER his birth. Why else would Herod order the destruction of all the Bethlehem children 2 years old and younger when the wise men left without seeing him (as he had ordered them to)?

So, with that in mind, let us re-examine this story as the scriptures truly tell it.

First of all, why does the world celebrate this holiday at all? The world celebrates it as a time of joy and sharing with friends and family. It's a time of giving and showing love to your loved ones. Nothing wrong with that, in principle.

But, what is the real reason behind the season for the Christian? It is all of the above AND it is a time of celebrating the birth of Jesus. Why celebrate his birth at all? Because of Calvary! He came to die. He came to show us that there is a real and lasting hope of eternal life THROUGH HIM. For me, just because the early church didn't celebrate his birthday (at least as far as we know from scripture) is no reason not to celebrate it. I'm glad he came! If he hadn't we'd have no hope at all. And, if I can celebrate the birth of my wife and children, how much more can I celebrate the birth of my Savior?

Indeed, let us look at why he came:

Matthew 1:21
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

The scriptures scream that God came to save us from our sins. Who is this Jesus?

1 Timothy 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Isaiah 9:6

King James Version (KJV)

⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

The one and only creator- the God of the whole universe- made himself a man (became a son) and went to Calvary in order that we could truly be free. That's love! That's a loving Father!

That, to me, is the real reason for the season. The fact that God almighty robed himself in human flesh in order to make a way for me- That is reason to celebrate! That's what the whole world needs to know!

So, without further waiting, here is the "Christmas story", in Chronological order, so we all get it right. After all, don't we want to tell the story correctly?

Luke 1:⁵THERE was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.

⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

⁷And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.

⁸And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,

⁹According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.

¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.

¹¹And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.

¹²And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.

¹³But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.

¹⁴And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.

¹⁵For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.

¹⁶And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

¹⁷And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

¹⁸And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years.

¹⁹And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.

²⁰And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.

²¹And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.

²²And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.

²³And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.

²⁴And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,

²⁵Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

²⁶And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

²⁷To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

²⁸And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

²⁹And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.

³⁰And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

³¹And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.

³²He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

³³And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

³⁴Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

³⁵And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

³⁶And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

³⁷For with God nothing shall be impossible.

³⁸And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

³⁹And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

⁴⁰And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.

⁴¹And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

⁴²And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.

⁴³And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

⁴⁴For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

⁴⁵And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

⁴⁶And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,

⁴⁷And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

⁴⁸For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

⁴⁹For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.

⁵⁰And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

⁵¹He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

⁵²He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

⁵³He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

⁵⁴He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;

⁵⁵As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.

⁵⁶And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

⁵⁷Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.

⁵⁸And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.

⁵⁹And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.

⁶⁰And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.

⁶¹And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.

⁶²And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.

⁶³And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.

⁶⁴And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.

⁶⁵And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.

⁶⁶And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.

⁶⁷And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,

⁶⁸Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

⁶⁹And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

⁷⁰As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

⁷¹That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

⁷²To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

⁷³The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

⁷⁴That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

⁷⁵In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

⁷⁶And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;

⁷⁷To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,

⁷⁸Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,

⁷⁹To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

⁸⁰And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

Matthew 1: ¹⁸Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

¹⁹Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.

²⁰But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

²¹And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

²²Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

²³Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

²⁴Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

²⁵And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Luke 2

¹And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
²(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
³And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
⁵To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
⁶And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
⁷And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
¹⁵And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
¹⁶And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
¹⁷And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
¹⁸And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
¹⁹But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
²¹And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
²²And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;
²³(As it is written in the law of the LORD, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)
²⁴And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
²⁵And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
²⁶And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
²⁷And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
²⁸Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
²⁹Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:
³⁰For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
³¹Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
³²A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
³³And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.
³⁴And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;
³⁵(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
³⁶And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;
³⁷And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
³⁸And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
³⁹And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.
⁴⁰And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

Matthew 2:

¹Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
²Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
³When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
⁴And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
⁵And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
⁶And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
⁷Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
⁹When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
¹¹And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
¹²And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
¹³And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
¹⁴When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
¹⁵And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
¹⁶Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,
¹⁸In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
¹⁹But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
²⁰Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.
²¹And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
²²But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:
²³And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

Notice that the shepherds saw Jesus in the manger the night he was born. The wise men saw him in a house about 2 years later. The shepherds saw Jesus as a baby. The wise men saw him as a young child.

The Christmas story was about a 2+ year story, not a one night event. Just as our own walk with God requires a life time relationship, not a one time prayer. God bless you all and Merry Christmas!

So what's wrong with growing old?

2011-12-04T15:31:00.001-05:00

Leviticus 19:32
Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.

Proverbs 16:31
The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.

1 Corinthians 3:19

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

The term hoary, here, means: "1) age, gray hair, hoary head, old age

a) gray hair, hoary head

b) old age"

We live in a society that puts a premium on being "young". The entertainment stars- and even politicians- of our day spend much money on surgeries, nails, hair salons, etc to try and stay looking young. Movies, magazines, newspapers, billboards, and even sporting events all put a high value on "the young".

Everywhere we look, in other words, we are told that a) young is good, and b) to get old is bad. Many are the men and women who have bought into this lifestyle. They look in the mirror and, instead of being grateful for the time they've had, lessons learned, and thankful for the victories and wisdom God has given them- all they see is a person who's (gasp) "getting old"! We wear makeup to cover our age. We imitate the ungodly fashions of the day because we want to be "cool" and accepted by society.

Many even brag about staying "young". They throw out the music styles and lessons of their youth. They take on the modern music and lifestyles all to try and appear "young". They fight this battle every day.

One day, inevitably, it hits them. In spite of all of the money they've spent and effort they've applied, they are...dare I say? ....GETTING OLD! This is terrible! What can they do? Instead of being glad for the blessings they do have, they pine for the youth they've lost. They think back to high school or college and wish they could be that age again.

Then, the enemy of their souls- having reeled them in to this point- baits the trap that he has so painstakingly prepared all this time. He sends them a young person that seems to be, or even is, attracted to THEM. Being around this young one makes them feel "alive" (a euphemism for "young"). The more they hang out with this person, the more they begin to look at their own spouses lack of youth.

The results? First it's adultery of the heart. They spend lots of time speaking with this person. They go out of their way to be with this person. They begin to try and woo this person the way they wooed their own spouse in their youth. Finally, comes the inevitable: physical adultery.

Suddenly, all the faithful years their spouse has spent with them doesn't matter anymore. All the laughs and smiles, tears and trials of their lives together are thrown away for something they believe to be "better". Whether by their doing it, or their spouse doing it, the marriage ends in divorce. A family is destroyed.

Soon, they learn that their greener grass, isn't so green. Their "new and improved" partner lacks both the true love of their original spouse and the experience and care that comes only from years together in the trenches. They've thrown away what they had for an illusion, only to find that what they now have is less than what they gave up.

MANY times, after the divorce, their new partner winds up leaving them all alone. All they really wanted was the thrill of taking this married person away from their spouse. The person has built up their ego on the pain of a destroyed home- leaving the newly divorced one, helpless, despondent, and all alone. All because of the fear of getting old.

God's word paints a different picture all together. It's GOOD to grow old with God and your spouse. It's GOOD to learn together, laugh together, struggle together, and grow together. Let the world point a finger at you. Let them call you old. It's a JOY to grow old together.

More than that, it's a joy to be able to help younger folks who are trying to learn and grow together. Your stand for God can be a living testimony for the young folks around you who are trying to live out their own marriages and walk with God. Your testimonies can give strength to them, as they struggle with some of the very things that God brought you through.

Don't give in to the "stay young" lie. Don't give in to that young thing who's trying to flirt with you. Stand for God. Hold onto your spouse ("cleave unto"- as the scriptures say) with ALL your heart and mind. Live your life together as a testimony of what God can do- even in this day of high divorce rates.

Growing old is a blessing, not a curse. Let God carry you both through so that your life and experiences will be an example for later generations to follow until the Lord comes back. Instead of settling for the enemies "hall of shame", hold on to Jesus and enter God's "hall of fame".

God bless you all.

What to do when the promises come through.

2011-11-16T15:28:00.001-05:00

Deuteronomy 12

¹These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.

²Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:

³And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.

⁴Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God.

Israel had been in bondage for 400 years. They spent their days in bondage, longing for their deliverer to come and take them to their promised land. Day after day of hard labor. Night after night of tending wounds from the taskmaster's whip. They longed for, prayed for, and looked for the realization of the promise given to them by God:

Exodus 3:16-18

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁶Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:

¹⁷And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.

This promise gave them hope! It kept them alive and willing to endure the troubles they faced every day. God sends Moses, he delivers them, and they begin the march to the promised land. They go through battles, famine, lack of water, lack of faith, daily drudgery. Finally, as they begin to prepare to enter into the "land flowing with milk and honey", God gives them a stern warning.

I'm about to do what I said I would do, BUT when I give you your promised lands, there are some things I expect from you.

1)Realize that your promised land is not without difficulty. There will be enemies who will try and destroy you. You will have to fight to keep what you've been given.

2) Do not intermingle with their culture and especially their religions. In fact, you are to go in and clean house. You are to take MY culture to this new land. You are to destroy the sacrificial places that they have set up to their false gods. Do NOT believe the lie that all religions lead to the same place. I am your God and you are NOT to bow to and worship their gods. Burn down the groves where they have performed rituals to the fertility goddess. Tear down the high places where they sacrificed to the sun. Take over the land and follow me, changing the land for my glory.

How many of us have lived in misery for years, barely hanging on to the promises that God has spoken to us. We endure the trials and hardships, all the while aching for the day of deliverance to come. We are tempted to give up and walk away, but we know we can't- that way leads to death.

Finally, God tells us, "I'm about to deliver you." We shout for joy and begin to pack, but do we hear the rest of what he is saying? Listen, dear friend. For if we stop with the message of deliverance, then we will not be prepared for what we face when he does.

Yes, we all have a place of service. We are called to serve God and each other in whatever capacity he chooses and wherever he tells us to go. It may be across the street, across the state, or across the world, but he has a plan for what he wishes to accomplish in our lives.

When that day comes, it would behoove us to listen to the rest of the story.

1) Know that our place of service, our promised land, is fraught with danger. Our enemies will be there trying to destroy us. We are to go in, take charge, and defeat them in the name of Jesus.

2) Know that we cannot accept the lie that all roads lead to heaven. We cannot worship with them in their false religions. We are NOT to bow to their ways of doing things. We are to go in the power of his might, and through HIS word, tear down the false religious systems and let God be God! We are to take over our promised land and follow HIM- allowing him to change things there for HIS glory.

Whatever little things that have been hindering our walk with God that are in our lives, need to be dealt with. We cannot hold to the world and to God and expect to win the battles ahead. We must allow God to show us our hearts and to deal with the wrong things we are shown there. If we do, God will do great things for us and through us. If we do not, we will fall.

Israel did not follow God's instructions. Even though they received their promise, they could not keep it, because they compromised and fell.

When God gives us our promised land, we will do the same thing they did? Or, will we pray, fast, stand, and fight the way God tells us to? It's up to us. He has given us clear instructions, will we obey?

What about the Epistles? Are they for everyone?

2011-11-13T10:41:00.001-05:00

Romans 1

"¹Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,

²(Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)

³Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;

⁴And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

⁵By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

⁶Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:"

1 Corinthians 1

^1"Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

²Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's:"

2 Corinthians 1

^1"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia:"

Galatians 1

^1"Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)

²And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:"

Ephesians 1

^1"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:"

Philippians 1

¹Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:

Colossians 1

¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,

²To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 1

¹Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 1

¹Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

1 Timothy 1

¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;

²Unto Timothy, my own son in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

2 Timothy 1

¹Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,

²To Timothy, my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Titus 1

¹Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness;

²In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;

³But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;

⁴To Titus, mine own son after the common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Philemon 1:1
Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellowlabourer,

Hebrews 2

¹Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

²For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;

³How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

⁴God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?

James 1

¹James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.

1 Peter 1

¹Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

²Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

2 Peter 1

¹Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:

1 John 2

¹My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

2 John 1

¹The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;

3 John 1

¹The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

²Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

³For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.

⁴I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Jude 1:1
Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:

2 Timothy 2:15

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁵Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth

I realize that this is a whole lot of scripture- much more scripture than I usually use in a typical post. To some this will seem like overkill. However, sometimes, in order to understand a truth of the word of God, this is necessary.

There are many groups out there that espouse many different doctrines. They all point to scripture and on the surface, from a certain point of view, they all seem to make some logical sense. Yet, they cannot all be correct. Scripture commands us to study the word of God and to RIGHTLY DIVIDE (correctly understand) it.

There are many different beliefs on how to be "saved", or "born again". Everyone points to a pet scripture to try and prove their belief. One of the more popular ones is to use these verses:

Romans 10:9-10

King James Version (KJV)

⁹That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

¹⁰For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Ephesians 2: ⁸For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

⁹Not of works, lest any man should boast.

1 John 1: ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

They say, from this- and adding John 3:16 to it- that we are saved by simple belief in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and all we have to do to access this is to believe and repent.

Sounds good on the surface! Yet, in order to correctly understand a scripture, we must first understand the context of the verse. What is the conversation about? Who is the verse written to? This second question is the sincere point of this blog post.

Who was Romans 10 written to? Sinners? Or saints? Unregenerate people who have never known the saving Grace of God? Or people who have already become God's children?

Answer:Romans 1: ⁵By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:

⁶Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:"

So Romans 10 was written to people who have already been saved! The same can be said about 1 John 1:9. Who was this Epistle written to?

1 John 2: "¹My little children..." What does John mean by this? His fleshly children or spiritual children?

John 1

¹The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;

3 John 1

¹The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

²Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

³For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.

⁴I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

It is evident from these scriptures that John called his spiritual converts his "children". He's not alone in this. Paul did the same thing in 1 and 2 Timothy 1 and Titus 1, calling Timothy and Titus his sons in the Gospel.

What about Ephesians? Who was this Epistle written to?

Ephesians 1

^1"Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:"

So, again, this letter is written to people who are already saved. Indeed, all the letters (Epistles), from Romans through Jude are written to already saved people.

So does it follow that the doctrine of the majority of today's "Christian churches" is true? No.

Does the Bible give any examples of teaching salvation to unsaved people? Yes. What does it say there that we must do to be saved?

^{John 3:1}There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

²The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

³Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

⁴Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

⁵Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

⁷Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

⁸The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

⁹Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

¹⁰Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?

¹¹Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.

¹²If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?

¹³And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

¹⁴And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

¹⁵That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

¹⁶For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

¹⁷For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

¹⁸He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

¹⁹And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

Here Jesus explains that we must a) believe (verse 16), b) be born of water and of spirit" (verse 5).

Most groups whole heartedly accept verse 16, but either ignore or try and explain away verses 3-5. Rather than try and argue here, lets look at how this teaching translated into what the Apostles taught to unsaved folks.

Acts 2: ³⁷Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

The day of Pentecost comes and the "church" is born (Acts 2:1-4). People gather and Peter preaches the first sermon of the church's history. The power and truth of his words is so convicting that his hearers become convicted of their own sins. They immediately ask, in essence, "How do I rid myself of this sin".

It's a valid question. It's not very hard, if a soul is honest, to admit that we are sinners in the eyes of God. So what do we do with that knowledge? Peter gives us the answer.

Acts 2: ³⁸Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

This answer agrees with everything Jesus taught in John 3. Jesus said we must believe. A person will not repent of their sins unless they first believe God exists and that they are indeed a sinner in need of a savior.

Jesus said we must be "born of water". Peter said we must be "baptized in Jesus name for the remission of sins". Paul says in Romans 6:4 that we are "buried with him (Jesus) in baptism". Peter says in his Epistles that we are saved by water in baptism, just as Noah and his family were saved by the waters in the flood.

Jesus said we must be "born of the spirit". Peter said we would "receive the gift of the Holy Ghost". Paul said in Romans that if we don't have the spirit then we are "none of his".

Read Acts 19:1-7 and Acts 8 and 10. The same plan of salvation is taught here as Peter taught on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.

The Epistles are great scripture, but they are all, as you can see by the scripture references above, written to already saved people- explaining how to stay saved, not how to get saved.

To get saved, do what Jesus, Peter, and Paul all taught:

Acts 2: ³⁸Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF REBELLION!

2011-11-06T10:05:00.001-05:00

1 Samuel 15:22-24

King James Version (KJV)

^22"And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

²³For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

²⁴And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice."

Exodus 22:18
Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

We've just come through another Halloween season. Whether you take part or not is not what we are here to discuss today. What is an irrefutable fact, however, is that- all in all- it is a very demonic and evil holiday. It is represented by monsters and ghouls, vampires and werewolves, and witches.

Most of us today- those who call ourselves Christians- wouldn't even think of getting involved in witchcraft. We understand that it is evil, demonic, and an abomination in the eyes of God.

There are many forms of witchcraft. From Satanism to Wicca there are terrible false religions based upon it. There's astrology (Chinese or otherwise, it doesn't matter), Ouija boards (presented as a game), tarot cards, TV shows, Movies (Harry Potter is a great example of the glorification of witchcraft), etc.

We are told that there is both good and bad witchcraft. This is a lie. God is very clear on his opinion of witchcraft in all forms. "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." Witchcraft, in the eyes of God, is a sin worthy of the death penalty- period! No such thing as a good witch!

I know. I can hear you saying, "But we live under Grace now. God doesn't enforce that any longer." My response to you is "Yes and No."

Yes, we live under Grace. We are all given ample time to get things right between us and God before we have to meet him on judgement day.

No, your wrong about God not enforcing the penalty. While it is true that we are not to kill witches any longer, it doesn't change God's view of it. It also doesn't mean God has forgotten his own penalty. The price will be paid. It's a delayed penalty. Delayed, in case the wrong doer should decide to be born again and have this and other sins washed under his blood. But, for those who insist on continuing, hell will be very hot.

However, there is another form of witchcraft today that is alive and well. It is more dangerous than open witchcraft because it is so smooth that most don't notice it. Though most people don't go around casting spells, there are many that fall into this sin because it seems so natural to us.

We live in the "land of the free". We have been taught that we can do anything we doggone well please. We scoff at constrictive laws that limit what we can do. We are free to chose how we will live and what we will do. Unfortunately, our freedom- as blessed as we are- has given birth to a much more dangerous sin than divination or necromancy. It's called REBELLION.

Rebellion, in the eyes of God is a very serious thing, indeed. So much so that he tells us that there is no difference between witchcraft and rebellion. A witch, in the law, is to be stoned. But what about a rebel?

Being from the south, the term rebel is a term of endearment to us. We revel in our rebellion. We're proud of it. Yet, how does God see rebellion against him?

The first sin was actually not in the Garden of Eden. The first sin was done by an Archangel named Lucifer.

Isaiah 14:^12"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

¹³For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

¹⁴I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High".

The first sin was rebellion! What was the result?

Ezekiel 28:^13"Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

¹⁴Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire (the stars).

¹⁵Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

¹⁶By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

¹⁷Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

¹⁸Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee".

He lost out with God and lost his position. HE became the center of the universe in his own mind. HE looked at his own talents, beauty, and abilities and decided that he had the right to do what he wanted. Who cares what God thinks? He's an old fuddy-duddy anyway! He just doesn't want me to have fun! I deserve to be exalted- not him! These others should lift ME up and worship me!

One thought at a time. One little bit of pride on top of another led to conceit. This conceit led to rebellion. His rebellion led to he and 1/3rd of the Angels that followed him ending up cast out on their ears. They also have a future date with a lake of fire that will torment them forever. All because of rebellion!

In humans, rebellion brings sin, as well as is sin. It leads to drug addiction, sexual sin, alcoholism, divorces, illegitimate children, self-centeredness, murder, abortion, and stealing. It destroys relationships, breaks up homes, and brings chaos in society. Worse, our attitude towards others ("Who do they think they are? They can't tell me what to do!") translates into our attitude towards God ("Who does he think he is? He can't tell me what to do!")

In our honest moments, we realize that we truly can't make it on our own. When we're truthful, we realize that the best we can do is make a mess of things. When we reach that point of honesty, we are left with two choices.

1) We can dive off into entertainment, drugs, alcohol, and illicit sex. This begins a seemingly endless cycle. We do what makes us temporarily feel good. Then, when we come down off that "high", the sin makes us feel even worse about ourselves. We see ourselves for the wretch that we are. Then, we dive off into more of the same (or worse), in a vain effort to try and make ourselves feel better about ourselves.

We truly will do anything to try and cover our own sins. But, in the end, it doesn't work. If a person stays on this road, they will wind up dead. All they will have to leave behind as a legacy is a wasted life and a trail of tears- with no good eternal future to look forward to.

2) We can turn to God in honest repentance! We can go where the masses refuse to go. We can put down our pride. Stop our rebellion. And throw ourselves on the mercy of the judge! When we do, we will find something amazing happens!

MERCY! A new lease on life! A new chance! We can obediently follow Acts 2:38 and be born again! ALL of our past sins washed in his blood! All of our weaknesses given to him. Our future will then be in the hands of the master, the creator, the author and finisher of our faith!

He will take away the addictions. He will transform our lives into something beautiful. He will make us into a useful member of the kingdom of God.

But, the choice is ours. What do we do with it? Do we submit to him and stay submitted to him, and be on our way to eternity with him? Or, do we refuse him and keep on destroying our lives? Does the rebellion end in Grace? Or does the rebellion end in hell? One way or the other the rebellion will end. Which way will yours?

Waiting time is not wasted time!

2011-10-30T11:12:00.000-04:00

"O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:" -Psalms 7:1

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as Eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint." -Isaiah 40:31

Living for God is sometimes painted as being glorious. We hear the testimonies of others and think, "If I can just get there, I'll be alright!" We thrill with the stories of deliverance, shout and dance at the stories of triumph, and rejoice at the stories of the awesome power of God. We read the scriptures (and we hear the testimonies) of what we like to call "triumphant faith"!

Sometimes, however, when the shouts have died away and we are alone and apart from the glorying masses, there is a whisper. A small voice inside of us that keeps asking things like, "When is my turn?", "When does my deliverance come?", and "How long am I to be shackled in this situation before God will set me free and let my life be a testimony to others?"

This blog is for you, the nameless face in the middle of the masses that longs to be set free. It's to the one who thrills to hear the testimonies, but desires to be one yourself. It's to the hurting soul on the verge of giving up and giving in to the voices that scream at you that your beliefs and your God is a lie. Let us examine some things today and take a close and hard biblical look at some real questions and their real answers.

First, lets explode a myth:

"The joy of the Lord is my strength", the scripture says. It is NOT the scripture that is mythical, but rather our modern understanding of it. We hear it said, almost constantly, that God's people have got to hang on to their joy. We have to guard our thoughts and hearts so we don't "lose our joy". We are warned not to let Satan "steal your joy".

The problem with all this is that we are subtly being told that OUR joy is one and the same as GOD'S joy. We are led to believe that if we don't FEEL joyful all the time that somehow we aren't right with God. We are told we are strength-less because we have allowed OUR joy to subside.

Look at Job, my friend. It's a hard book to read, and it's a much ignored book. Why? Because it paints a picture of God and his relationship with us that we don't like. What do you mean God ALLOWED Satan to attack Job? God is LOVE. He won't allow his children to suffer, the "faith preachers" scream at us. We are told that when we are suffering that the problem is US- all we need do is repent of our bad attitude. Further, if we will just give enough money, make the right sacrifice, or hold to our faith, then God will magically make it all go away- quickly.

Now take a hard look at Job. He lost his children, his livelihood, the respect of his peers, his standing in the community,his health, and even the respect of his wife. Why? Because God made a wager with Satan! OK, Satan. You think you're so tough. Attack Job, but only as far as I allow. Job won't turn. He'll remain faithful to me through it all. Do you really think that Job FELT Joy at all of his troubles? It all was terrible for him, but it happened- and God allowed it. Why? Because God knows the hearts of his people. He knows our strengths and weaknesses. He knows how far we can be pushed without completely falling apart and leaving him. God allowed this because he knew just how strong Job was!

Now, look at the story again. Are there any scriptures that say that Job said, "Thank you Lord for taking all this from me?" No. Are there any that say, "And Job gave (x) amount of money to the priests and God caused it all to go away?" No. Are there any that say,"And Job shouted a sacrifice of praise and danced before the Lord after his wife left him?" No. Job does say, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away- blessed be the name of the Lord." But, he says it with gritted teeth. Desperately, he holds onto his integrity (his faith in God).

Look at it again. Does Job go through all this without complaint? No. He spends chapter after chapter being attacked by his "friends". Does this sound familiar to anyone? How many times have trials come our way and we find our "friends"- our "brothers and sisters in the Lord" attacking us, rather than praying for and supporting us through them? If you're so righteous, "Why are you poor?", "Why are you sick", "Why is God allowing all this in your life, if he's not trying to get you to repent?"

He spends chapter after chapter defending himself from the "fruit inspector" friends he has. "I haven't walked away from God." "I do make the sacrifices he requires." "I do pray and fast." "I do read his word and reflect on the lessons found there." "I have given to the needy." "I have given to the work of God." He finally says, "If I knew where God was, physically, I'd go there and ask him myself why this stuff is going on in my life, but I've prayed and looked and it's not because of my own actions!" Yes, that's Mike's paraphrase, but that's the essence of what he says.

Yet, in every new test and trial, the scriptures say that God tells Satan "You tried and LOOK at my servant Job!" Can you hear the JOY in God's voice as he jabs his enemy with Job's continued stand for God? Can you feel the elation of a Father who's SO VERY PROUD of his son for a job well done?

Our modern society loves the quick fix approach to life. We want everything, yesterday, and the faster the better. Lord, I'll suffer for a few minutes, but then I want my cake and eat it, too! We, as parents try to show our kids we love them by the THINGS we can give them. We, as God's children, mistakenly equate God's love toward us with the same attitude. What has God given me lately to prove that he loves me? We are SOOOOO wrong!

God is in this for the long haul! His gifts are meant to be eternal gifts. His care for us LONG TERM!

If I, as a parent, don't give my child a new car, does that mean I don't love them? No. But, if I don't give them hugs and words of endearment, it does. If I don't give them those new clothes they want, do I not love them anymore? No, I still love them. But, if I don't teach them godly life lessons that will empower their faith in God and future walk with God, then I don't love them like I say I do.

God gives us precious promises. But, it's in the waiting for those things to happen in our lives that he teaches us the godly lessons we need to know. God says I will not leave you, nor forsake you. But, he allows attacks that makes us FEEL like he has in order for our faith to be built when we discover that he was carrying us through those hard times. He allows hard times, so that in the future hard times, we will remember how proud and joyful our Father was of us when we made it through the last time and be that much more determined to stand for him THIS time.

Consider some facts that may help us:

1) Yes, Job suffered. But, God restored twice what he lost when he held on to God in spite of his circumstances. Do you believe that Job would say that his ending was worth the hard times? Yes.

2) Noah heard from God to build an Ark. He told people why and faithfully built it for 100 years- never hearing another word from God during the building of it. How many times did he doubt? How much ridicule from his peers and families heap upon him? How many times did even his wife and sons question him? How many problems did he have to overcome in building the boat? Nothing like this boat had ever been built before- and wouldn't even be close to it until the 1900's (some 5000 plus years later- talk about being ahead of your time).

He had to make blueprints, find and acquire the needed supplies, find and make or acquire the tools needed to accomplish it, dig for the pitch, cut down and drag trees, etc. He had to learn about how to care for the animals- all the known animals of the world (and how many others showed up that he'd never seen before?). Yet, he only heard from God once and all this he did from that one conversation. YET, he stood strong and for his reward, he was able to see his family and all the animals in the world saved from God's wrath. Do you think Noah would tell you it was worth the difficulties? Yes.

3) Abraham is told by God that he will have a son in his old age, if he will just go and do what God tells him to do. He's 75 when he receives the promise. In between, 2 kings try to take his wife, his nephew tries to hinder his family business, and he has to fight several wars. He and Sarah even give into the culture of the day and try to force God's hand in giving them an heir- a decision we are all still dealing with the negative effects of even today. Yet, through it all, and in spite of it all, God is faithful to him and gives him a son- 25 years later!

Why so long? Couldn't God have told him and brought it about a year later? Yes. But, Abraham had to learn some things. He had to go through the battles to learn that God is his strength. He had to make the mistakes to learn that God would forgive and work in spite of our sinful efforts to manipulate the circumstances. He had to father Ishmael to learn that God could use him to father Isaac in his even older age. He had to accept the lesser pastures, to know that God would give him the greater. He had to almost lose his wife- twice, to know that God will protect his marriage and do what he said.

These experiences built the faith in God that was needed in order for him to be able to pass the ultimate sacrifice- the God ordered execution of Isaac- his promised offspring and the ultimate goal of Abraham's life. If he had not been through all that he went through, he could not have submitted to God at the end. And God his Father would not have felt the JOY he had when his son passed the test!

The JOY of our Father comes through the trials we endure and don't walk away. The JOY of the Lord comes through the lessons we've learned that allow us to stand through and pass the tests.

It's in the waiting that the lessons are learned. It's in the waiting that our strength is built. It's in the waiting where our character is built to be able to withstand the future. It's in the waiting that our faith and relationship with God grows and our Father is given JOY.

So, let us take heart and endure the testing of our faith. Let us WITH PATIENCE run the race that is set before us. Knowing that one day, the TESTING of our faith will bring forth GOOD fruit and bring forth the true fulfillment of "The Joy of the Lord is my strength!" One day, dear em-battered saint of God, your trials will be told as a testimony to encourage others- who feel exactly the way you do right now.

Local Church government: How does scripture tell us to organize it?

2011-10-23T11:37:00.001-04:00

This blog is going to be a little different for me. First, it is a huge step out of the norm for me. I was raised in, and later born again in, a church system that had a certain structure to it. You had Sunday School teachers, a Sunday School superintendent, a Choir/music director, a Deacon board (that in many cases, unbiblically, controlled the church), maybe an outreach director and team, a youth leader/pastor, and other departments with other appointed leaders over them, etc. Sitting on top of all of this structure was "THE pastor", who sometimes had an assistant pastor.

Does God work in all of this? Yes! I, and many like me, were born again within this structure- not because the structure was necessary, or even necessarily correct, but because the doctrine was right and God honors his word and responds to the prayers and praise of his people. Can God continue to work in this structure? Yes, he can.

Some say that this single pastor system is the biblical structure and that anything else is wrong. Others say that our present system is the "doctrine of the Nicolaitanes" spoken of by Jesus in Rev. 2:6 as being a doctrine that he hates. Is this so? I'm not sure on either point.

The word, Nicolaitanes, comes from the Greek word, "Nikolaites", and means, "adherent of Nicolaus", or someone or group that followed his teachings. What did he teach? I'm not sure, as he is not mentioned again in scripture. The word itself comes from another Greek word, "Nikolaos", which means, "victorious over the people". This word comes from two other words:

1) Nikos, which means, "conquest or victory".

2) Laos, which means, "a people". Interestingly, this word is not referring to a persons OWN people, but people in general.

The proponents of the "single pastor system is the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes" theory say that these definitions (which seem to be our only Biblical clue) mean that the one pastor "in charge" of the local assembly is what Jesus was referring to in Revelations. Is this true? Possibly. I'm not convinced as of yet.

What I'm about to say, from here, may need a little background.

I was raised trinitarian. I was raised to believe that all we need to do to be saved is to believe in our hearts, repent, and confess with our mouths that Jesus was Lord. This was done, for the most part in repentant prayer. Don't get me wrong, repentance toward God is a wonderful thing wherever a person may be.

Yet, through much searching and much prayer later in life, I discovered that some of the theology of how I was raised was wrong.

There is no such thing as a trinity taught anywhere in God's word. There is, in fact only one God, who made a son (the man Christ Jesus,) indwelt that son from in the womb, lived among us, taught us, performed miracles, died for us, resurrected himself, and sent the indwelt and now glorified body to the throne where he now sits as king of kings and Lord of lords! I could take a very Long time explaining this concept, but that's not the purpose of this blog post. If interested, 1 Timothy 3:16 is a great place to start.

I found out that John 3: 16 is NOT the plan of salvation- and even if it were, it says SHOULD be saved, not SHALL be saved. That's a HUGE difference! Shall is a guarantee. It's a done deal- end of story. SHOULD is NOT a done deal. There's more to the story yet- and there is. Our journey to God begins with faith and belief, but there's more yet to the story.

2 Thessalonians 1: 8 says that when Jesus returns, he will take vengeance on those who have "OBEY(ED) NOT the Gospel". I once thought that all we had to do was believe the Gospel. When I asked those leaders I grew up under what the gospel is they all said, "the good news". In their defense, that IS what the word Gospel means in the Greek. But that does not tell me, and millions like me what that Good news is, specifically. What does the Bible mean when the word "gospel" is written there on the page? What is the good news?

According to 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 the Gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. This is specific. This is real information that a person can sink their teeth into. But, it begs the question, in light of 1 Thessalonians, How do we obey the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus? Are we to do, as I've heard of some in South America do, and have ourselves literally crucified?

NO. The next step after belief is repentance. In repentance, we turn from our sins and turn to God. It is spiritually a DYING to ourselves and our old ways of life.

How are we buried then? We are "BURIED WITH HIM", Romans 6:3-4 boldly declares, when we are baptized in water in Jesus name. After all, how can we be buried with HIM if HIS name is not used when we are lowered into that water? Also, this is the only way the Apostles EVER baptized in scripture. Check it out for yourselves. Read Acts- Revelations. There's not one baptism performed or referred to that was NOT done in Jesus name. Acts 4:12 says that his is the only name given among men, WHEREBY we must be saved. Must be pretty important, you think?

The biblical plan of salvation is simply this: "Repent, and be baptized EVERY one of you in the NAME of Jesus Christ FOR (in order to, not because of) the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." (Acts 2:38) It really is that simple and straight forward.

Having been raised in a religious doctrine that some of which (not all of which) turned out to be false has a unique effect on a person. I'm no longer willing to simply accept what a preacher says is the word of God. I question almost everything. I don't question who God is. I don't question the plan of salvation. I've got a good handle on those things, now. But, if I were taught those things wrongly, what else was I taught wrong?

Without getting into a lot of detail here, again not the reason for this particular post, but:

Do we run our homes the right way? Read Titus 2.

Is FORCED or legislated tithing (as apposed to freewill offerings) really God's plan in the NT church? Read Hebrews 7 and Matthew 23:23

The more immediate one for me recently is this one, "How exactly is the five fold ministry, specifically the pastoral side of the house, played out in the scriptures?"

Before I get into this too deeply, I want my brethren in the five fold ministry to know and understand that this is not a personal attack. This is also not a man trying to tear down the church. I am doing this as one who feels a pastoral calling on his life and, as such, am trying to truly understand, biblically, what it is I am really called into. Part of this is understanding the biblical structure of the office itself. I do not now, nor will I ever, claim to know everything. Any comments, advice, help, etc that any of you wish to give will be welcomed and prayed about and studied.

I need to know this! I pastored once for 6 months and feel that I failed miserably! I always felt handicapped by not having the help of another preacher. This also has led, I admit, into this study. Before I ever "pastor" again, I wish to truly understand how the Apostles did it in scripture. If they did things a certain way, and had great success (which they did), then I believe it behooves us to follow their example. Hence, this study.

I'm still praying and studying on this one. I don't claim to know it all, but here are a few things I've found interesting along the way, so far. I do not have a "fully developed theology" on this one. These are simply a collection of facts. Anyone who cares to chime in, please do! I have much to learn.

1) The word pastor only appears ONCE in the entire New Testament. It means, in the Greek, "a shepherd". Yet, in the verse itself, Ephesians 4:11, it is plural ("pastors"). Is this because the verses here are speaking of the local structures themselves, or because the reference is to the body of Christ as a whole, which would require many more than one. Or could it be, BOTH? I don't know yet.

1a) One other thought: Why do we put so much emphasis on a word/title that is only mentioned once in the whole of the N.T.? It is used 8 times in the O.T. All of them in Jeremiah (2:8, 3:15, 10:21, 12:10, 22:22, 23:1-2). The OT word for pastor is "ra'ah" and it means, "to tend a flock, i.e. pasture it, intransitive to graze, (literally or figuratively), generally, to rule, by extension to associate with (as a friend)." So, by the word meaning itself, it means that the pastor's job is to TEND the flock of God's people (care for them- mend their wounds, protect them from predators, provide them with food and water, lead them, punish them for their own good when necessary, provide them safe pasture and safe housing to protect them from the elements, etc). We are also to give them a place to feed and graze.

Further, while positionally we are over them, we are also to be their FRIEND. This is not the traditional teaching. Many preachers are taught that they are never to become too friendly with the flock- that the flock will lose respect for them if they do. This is not biblical! We are to teach and practice the biblical pastoral authority. Yet, it is also biblical for us to be their friends. It's all about relationship! Jesus calls us HIS friend. Look at how he pastored the disciples. He got into the nitty gritty of their daily lives with them. He didn't stand aloof from a distance. They fell in love with him because of his love for them, not because of who he is! They followed him both because of who he is AND because of their relationship with him. We are to follow Jesus for the same reasons and we are to pastor in the same way he did.

In 7 of the 8 OT references the pastors are doing wrong. All of us should take the Lord's stern warning to heart:
" Woe be unto the pastors that destroy (to lose oneself, to wander away, to perish) and scatter [can we say divide and conquer] the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord." - Jeremiah 23:1

And all of us should long to be a part of God's work:
"And I will give you pastors (again plural) according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." - Jeremiah 3:15

2) Jesus sent workers out in the Gospels. The disciples are given instructions for when they would go out to preach in Matthew 10. They are told to go into the cities they are sent to, preaching the kingdom of heaven is at hand, perform whatever miracles God uses them to perform, and not to worry about money, clothes, etc, because the "workman is worthy of his meat". In other words, God will take care of our needs through his people (doesn't say how here, though freewill giving is implied).

Question: I've heard of pastors who will not go pastor in an area because the income for their needs isn't there at the time. Is this right? I understand that we have families to care for, but is our modern system the way Jesus told us to go about doing these things? Also, note that Jesus was preparing the disciples to be sent out, but the scripture doesn't say that he actually did so at this time.

In Luke 10:1, Jesus sent out "the seventy" into the countryside ahead of him: two by two, he gives them the same instructions he gave the Apostles in Matthew 10. In Luke 10: 17, when the seventy return to him, they are exuberant at all the results God has given them in their ministries. Jesus doesn't downplay their excitement, but tells them to keep their focus on the prize: "their names written in the lamb's book of life."

2 Questions: 1) Did Jesus send them out by two's because these weren't the disciples, or because he was beginning to establish the order he would later use in "the church"? 2) How many preachers get glorified by the masses because of the miracles, when it is not to be the true focus of our ministries? Some, not all, have even gotten a little haughty because of "their anointing". We are to rejoice in our relationship with God, not the wonderful ministry he gives us. Our ministries should come as an outgrowth of our relationship with Jesus, who is our true focus.

3)At the healing of the lame man in Acts 3, there were two Apostles there, not just one. Meaning? Not sure at this point.

4)It was Peter AND John that were captured and dragged before the counsel in Acts 4. Were they the core of leadership in the early church in Jerusalem? Were they grabbed because they were a pastoral team? Not sure yet.

5)In Acts 5, ALL the Apostles were captured, released by God, and recaptured, dragged before the counsel, beaten and set free. Why? their ministry was making great headway in the local population and the counsel were afraid of the people. Many were healed, delivered, and saved under their ministry, yet they rejoiced in their being counted worthy to suffer for Jesus, rather than the miracles. No mention of a specific leader here.

6)In chapter 6, the church had grown so large that it was no longer feasable for the Apostles (who at this point seem to all be joint pastors?) to oversee and perform all the benevolence ministries of the church, so 7 deacons were chosen to oversee these ministries.

Note: There is no record in the scriptures of deacon boards running a church, with the pastor as a sort of hired hand working for the board. The deacons oversaw the church benevolence and worked under the authority of the church leadership. In fact, this is, as far as I can find, the only office in the church that is open to election by the people. Just some thoughts.

7)Philip (now an evangelist?) (chapter 8:4-13) went and preached in Samaria, but didn't establish a "church" there. He had great results and God performed great miracles, yet, the people were not completely born again. Then, when news of this got back to the Apostles, they sent Peter and John to go and finish the job that Phillip had begun. Why 2? Why not just one of them? Why not just Peter, the man who "had the keys". Are we beginning to see a pattern here? Verse 25 even said, THEY (John and Peter)... preached the Gospel in many villages of the Samaritans." Again, plural.

8) Philip is sent by God to the Ethiopian Eunuch, alone. Is it because his visit was Evangelistic, more so than Pastoral? Are Evangelists allowed to go it alone, but Elder's are not? I don't know? Still trying to gather facts.

9)Chapter 9- Paul's heavenly conversion. Ananias (an Elder? a congregate? an Evangelist? We don't know, we're not told) is sent alone to pray for him and baptize him. Why? Could be that the Apostles were afraid and didn't believe that God was telling them to do this. After all, if they followed the wrong voice on this, they could die.

10) Paul spent time with the disciples (verse 9:19), the meaning of which here is NOT the Apostles, but must be the believers in that area, after his conversion. Then he begins to preach in Damascus and blows peoples minds! Here Paul seems to be, like every new preacher, spreading his preaching wings and learning under the church leadership's authority.

11)In verse 9: 27, Barnabas takes Paul under his wings and leads him to the Apostles, where he tells of what Paul has done since his conversion. They then sent him home to Tarsus. Why? Don't know.

12) 9:32 Peter is going through Lydda and Sharon ?(verse 35), alone, and the Lord used him to heal a man with palsy. Is this a planned ministry? Doesn't seem to be. It seems to have been something he stumbled upon while traveling.

13) 9:36-43 Again, Peter is traveling alone, happens upon a dead woman who has been used mightily by God in meeting peoples needs. God raises her from the dead. Since he is out traveling, away from Jerusalem, runs into believers at this (and the previous place). Is this a trip planned for Peter to go and check on established works? If so, do these works have established Elders that lead them for Peter to check with? We're not told.

14) Chapter 10 Peter is sent for by Cornelius in answer to Cornelius' prayers and Angelic visitation. We know the story. But Peter definitely went by himself (as far as church leadership representation. He did have others with him, but-as far as we can tell- they were not preachers), at the behest of God. Question, did Peter establish a church? Or was Peter, like Philip, acting in the role of an Evangelist?

15) 11: 1-18 Peter is raked over the coals for daring to take the Gospel to the Gentiles. The leadership in Jerusalem call him on the carpet. Does this mean that the Apostles operated from a standpoint that there was not a single, or even a duo set of leaders that hold authority over the others?

16) 11:19-30 Stephen evangelizes alone to the Jews only in several cities. An unspecified number of men (more than 1) from Cyprus and Cyrene started a church among the Grecians in Antioch. Word gets back to Jerusalem and they send Barnabas to check things out, He arrives, checks on things, leaves to go get Paul, and brings him back to Antioch with him, where they lead the church for a year. Here the disciples (apparently a generic name for believers before this time) are first called Christians. What happened to to the men from Cyprus and Cyrene? Still 2 men led the local assembly (Paul and Barnabus), not 1.

17) 13: 1-3 Paul and Barnabas are sent out by God as a ministry team. 13: 4-52 They work as an evangelism team.

18) 14:1-7 THEY start a group of believers in Iconium, but are forced to leave under threat of their lives. Still working together (apparently, neither one above the other), they go to Lystra, and other cities of the region.

19) 14: 8-20 They preach TOGETHER, are mistaken as false gods, rebuke this and Paul is stoned to death. Yet, God raises him up and they go to Antioch again.

20) 14: 21-28 They go back to areas where they have had converts, confirm they are still in the faith (and, I assume help to build up that faith), they then ORDAIN ELDERS in EVERY CHURCH. Does this mean they leave only one Elder/pastor in each group? Or does it mean that they leave ELDERS (plural) in each church? It could be taken either way. They then return to Antioch, testify of God's revivals, and stay there with that group of believers for a long time. It doesn't say that they take over the local assembly. Apparantly, the Elders they had left here were doing just fine. No need for Paul and Barnabas to take over.

21) 15:1-2 Huge dissension breaks out in the Antioch church, as Jewish Christians try to tell the Gentiles they must follow the law to be saved (see also verses 5&24 for the rest of the argument being made by the Jewish Christians). This uproar is so great, Paul and Barnabus leave for Jerusalem to get an answer from the Apostles.

22) 15: 3-12 They arrive in Jerusalem. Both sides make their case before the assembled Apostles and Elders. Again, this is a gathering of all of the Apostles and Elders. This is not a "local assembly".

23) 15: 13-32 James, the brother of Jesus (who wrote the book of James), seems to take charge of the meeting. There is no record of a brief recess for the counsel to deliberate or pray. He just seems to stand under the unction of the Holy Ghost and begins to speak. There still seems to be no real "pecking order", other than some are Apostles and some are Elders. Yet, even in this, all opinions seem to carry equal weight. Though the Apostles are definitely the "church leadership", they don't seem to "throw their weight" around unless it is necessary to keep the peace among the people.

24) 15: 36-41 Paul and Barnabas split in a disagreement over whether to take John Mark with them on their next missionary Journey. They each chose another partner (Barnabus takes John Mark. Paul takes Silas.) and leave to different parts to further the kingdom. Again, they go out in twos. This is becoming a clear and definite pattern, I think?

25) 16: 4-5 They carried the decree of Jerusalem about not having to follow the laws of Moses as Christians with them. Was this because Jerusalem was the "headquarters of the church" and had that much authority over the rest of the church? Was it because of the spiritual weight carried with the Apostles words? If so, why designate that the decree was "ordained of the apostles AND elders"? It seems to me that the decree carried so much weight because it came from GOD. The Apostles and elders being his mouth pieces. But, Paul, Silas, and Timothy used this as part of the foundation to begin more churches.

26) 16: 6-40 The new ministry team (Paul, Silas, Timothy) establish a church in Phillippi through much turmoil. Does this somehow tie back to the words of Jesus Matthew 18:20
"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them"?

27)17: 1-3 Paul preaches alone in the local Jewish synagogue that Jesus IS the Christ (Note: "Christ" is NOT-as some would say- Jesus' last name. It is a title that applies to Jesus that means "Messiah".). Now, did Paul actually go in alone and preach- as an evangelist would? did Silas and Timothy go in with him, as well? After all, Silas is mentioned as helping establish the converts in verse 4. Verse 2 states that Paul went in. So, I assume that he went in alone, leaving the rest of the team behind.

28) 17:4 Yet, when it came time to establish and shepherd these new converts, Silas enters back into the picture. Again, two Elders seem to co-pastor a new work.

29) 17: 10-12 Paul AND Silas establish another church in Berea. Again, together. Note: Though Paul seems to have become the principal speaker by now, yet, when it comes time for the converts to be pastored, Paul seems to work with and accept Silas as an equal, not a subordinate.

30) 17: 14 Paul, whose life was in danger, was sent away, but Silas and Timothy were left behind- apparently to guide the newly founded church in Berea.

31) 17: 15 Paul sends for Silas and Timothy to join him. Did they leave behind elders to continue the work, or did they leave "the brethren" to fend for themselves? We're not told here. One would assume that they would not have left if God had not raised up capable men within the fellowship who could continue the work of the Lord there.

32) 17: 16-34 Paul's famous dispute at Mars Hill. Interesting to me that he speaks about "the prince of peace" on a hill named after the Greek god of war! He was stirred in his spirit because of the surrounding ungodly culture. He went to proclaiming Jesus because of this. Several people became born again, as a result. They, apparently left Athens with Paul. No church was established there. Paul evidently acted as an evangelist here.

33) 18:1-4 Paul begins to evangelize in Corinth.

34) 18: 5 Silas and Timothy catch up with him. It is then that he feels PRESSED in the spirit to really get to the nitty gritty of Jesus to those Jews that he's been trying to evangelize. This is when the outcry truly happens. He's been teaching and preaching for weeks without incident. Yet, his ministry partners arrive and all of a sudden, there's chaos. What changed? Could it be that the anointing and unction of the Holy Ghost increases exponentially when "two or three are gathered" in ministry? Is this another sign that a local church would be much better served by an "Eldership team", as opposed to the modern single pastor system?

35) 18: 7-11 Paul (it doesn't say that any went with him) left dealing with the Jews, and apparently in the same city, took up in Justus' house and began to teach and preach to all who would listen. He had many converts, including Crispus, the "chief ruler" of the synagogue that butted up against Justus' house. He winds up staying there for another year and a half. Is this the first recorded incidence in scripture of a "single pastor" church? Possibly. We're not

told that he sent the new converts to Silas and Timothy's work to be pastored. In fact, it says that HE taught the word of God among them for a year and a half (verse 11).

Is this the evolving, so to speak, of the church into another system? Or, is it an exception to the rule? Don't know. All we can do is keep going on and see what the rest of scripture says.

36) 18:18-21 Paul, after tarrying there even longer, leaves Greece and sails to Syria- taking Priscilla and Aquilla with him. Were he and Aquilla going to be another team? Apparently not. He leaves them behind and goes to Ephesus- alone. He preaches, but he doesn't stay. His heart (spirit?) seemed to be guiding him back to Jerusalem.

We know from later scripture that God was guiding him back to Jerusalem and, eventually, to Rome. He would be beaten, imprisoned, set free, and later, beheaded for the Gospel. Was this the reason he began to work more as an evangelist and less as a Elder- having no preacher/partner in the Gospel for most of the rest of his ministry? Was the apparent "single pastorship" we just found, simply the beginning of God calling him out and preparing him for the rest of what he had to suffer for the Gospel?

18: 23 Paul, on his way back to Jerusalem, begins to make stops in areas where churches have already been established, preaching to them and strengthening them in the Lord. He seems to be becoming more and more evangelistic and less and less pastoral.

19: 1-20 He establishes, again, the plan of salvation (verses 1-7). He preaches to the Jews in the synagogue for 3 months. Then, he stays at a local Jewish school and debates about Jesus for the next 2 years. All of this seems to be more evangelistic and less pastoral.

19: 21-22 Paul sends two of his helpers to Macedonia for ministry. Again, two.

20:17-32 Paul, in Ephesus, calls for the Elders (church leaders- plural). Is this due to many churches in the area, and/or because there are more than one elder/pastor per church? We're not told.

20:33 -35 Just a note off subject.Paul makes clear here that he deliberately worked to care for his own monetary and physical needs so that he wouldn't feel obligated to his listeners for his livelihood and possibly not say some needed things to them. He says the same thing in Corinthians. Though it is biblical for we "in the ministry" to live off the proceeds of the Gospel, Paul was careful to guard against his human nature and cared for his own needs. If we, as preachers, have a strong drawing towards money and this worlds goods, then perhaps we would be better servants of God and our hearers if we cared for our own needs. This way, we don't feel beholden to our hearers and leave out some of what the Lord wants them to hear.

21: 18 Paul returns to Jerusalem. Hear, he goes into a meeting of James AND the Elders. Is this distinction because James is now the unadulterated head of the church? Possibly. Does this mean that the church, by then, was more organized and had a more established order of leadership? Could be. Does this mean that we should organize ourselves in denominations with established hierarchies Maybe. Can't really say from this small sampling. It is, however, evident from other scriptures that the "headquarters" had very little to do with the day to day operations of the local church bodies.

The rest of Acts is about Paul's trials before king's and rulers. During those times he wrote "the prison Epistles" that we so love and cherish today. But, no more seems to be hinted at in Acts about the organization of church leadership on either the Local or headquarters level. Based on what we've seen here (and, again, feel free to correct me or shed more light on this subject), I believe the following statements to be true and biblical.

1) Pastor is another word for what the New Testament calls an Elder.

2) In the vast majority of cases, churches should be overseen and led by at least two (and in some cases, three) Elders, whenever possible.

3) The modern single pastor system doesn't seem to have stemmed from scripture, but rather from some other source- many say Catholicism, but I've never studied that out.

4) Organizations are fine, but the actual running of the local church should be done by the local Elders, not by the organizational hierarchy.

5) Though God can, and does, reach people in the "single pastor" system, it seems evident in the scriptures that God's preferred choice of local church government is joint Eldership.

Thank you all for your patience in reading this rather long treatise. Thank all of you for your prayers and- ahead of time- for any corrections and refinements you may feel led to offer here. May God bless you all in Jesus name!

Be careful to stay between the lines!

2011-08-21T12:26:00.000-04:00

Deuteronomy 12:32
What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

Revelations 22: 18-19

¹⁸For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
¹⁹And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

Matthew 4:4
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Being a Christian and studying the word of God is exciting. Maybe I'm weird (of course, as we learned last week, God says we are Peculiar, so being weird in the eyes of this world is how we should be), but I enjoy digging into the word of God and learning new things, deeper things, than I ever did before. However, we must be careful.

Just as on natural roadways, the spiritual road we are to follow- the highway of holiness (Isaiah 35:8)- has lines we are to stay within. These lines (or boundaries, if you prefer) are spelled out in the word of God. As such, it is absolutely necessary that we study God's word to discover these lines. There are a few rules we all need to adhere to when we are doing this.

1) The word of God is MORE SURE than the voice of God.

In 2 Peter 1:16-21 tells us an amazing truth. Peter says that, even though they heard the voice of God on the mount of transfiguration (and through the lips of Jesus), the disciples ultimate trust in God was built not on what they heard, but on the WRITTEN word of God itself. In fact, he tells us that the written word of God is MORE sure than the voice that they heard. Why is this true?

2 Corinthians 11

¹³For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
¹⁴And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
¹⁵Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

There are many voices in this world. The vast majority are not of God. Not every preacher who gets behind the pulpit and preaches is actually preaching the true word of God. Not every teacher is a teacher of truth. Not every voice you hear in prayer is the voice of God. Always check everything you here, irregardless of it's source, against the written word of God (the KJV Bible). If what you heard is right, then say Praise the Lord and take it to heart. If what you heard is wrong, then don't accept that teaching into your lives.

Yes, go to church gatherings and services, but take notes. The scriptures tell us to "test the spirits to see whether they be of God". Pray as you go in, that the Lord will illuminate your heart and mind to catch ANY false teaching that may come across the pulpit or across the table. Then, when service is over, on your own time (even if nothing triggered as being false), go over your notes using these fundamental rules of study and make sure what you have heard is indeed true. As one person said, "Eternity is too long to be wrong."

2) Look for second and third scripture confirmation.

2 Corinthians 13¹This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

Look for other scriptures that agree with your understanding of the verses in question. If you cannot find verses that agree (and they must be taken IN CONTEXT, not twisted out of context), then your understanding of a passage (or the preacher/teacher's understanding) is wrong. Be very wary of any "doctrine" that cannot be confirmed with more scripture.

3) God and his word NEVER change.

Malachi 3
⁶For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Whenever we are looking at scripture, the surface understanding of the scripture is the main meaning of the text. There can be, and often times are, deeper understandings of the scriptures in question, but these understandings will NEVER contradict the surface teaching of the verse.

For instance, "The joy of the Lord is our strength" the scriptures say. This is absolutely true! However, it can be asked is it the joy WE feel, or the joy GOD feels, that this scripture is referring to? Many a Christian has been tripped up because they don't FEEL joyful in the midst of their trials. Are we supposed to? Job didn't. Yet, God obviously took Fatherly pride and JOY in the fact that, no matter what was thrown at him, Job still kept his testimony and faith in God intact. Job didn't understand his situation, but he held on to what he KNEW about God from the written word. Therefore, GOD was joyful in his child's life. It is STILL the joy of the Lord that is our strength, for we can endure ANYTHING as long as we know God is getting glory and joy from our lives.

Deuteronomy 6:4 (and other places) Clearly states that there is only ONE God. ANY teaching that tries to change this truth to being two, yet one, or three, yet one God, is simply NOT true.

There is such a thing as progressive (or ongoing) revelation, BUT this process will never contradict the original. If we hear something that does, we need to ditch that teaching, in favor of the original.

4) Remember the breakdown of the divisions in the word of God.

2 Timothy 2:15

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁵Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

If we keep in mind the proper divisions in the word of God, then we are not as apt to misinterpret or misuse scripture. For instance, in the law it is commanded to give physical sacrifices for sins and trespasses. If, we do not keep that in mind, then we can find ourselves trying to follow the laws that Jesus sacrifice fulfilled!

The law was the school master to lead us to Christ. It shows us what is sin and what is not. But the sacrifices are paid through Calvary.

Matthew through John, are the Gospels. These books are the basis of the church doctrine. We find here the life, acts, and teachings of Jesus while he walked this earth.

Acts. This is the only New Testament book that contains the direct teaching of the Apostles TO THE LOST, telling them how to be saved. It is where the Apostles walked out what Jesus taught them in the Gospels. We MUST go through the Gospels and Acts to GET saved.

Romans through Jude. These are the Epistles. They are LETTERS written TO the church telling us how to STAY saved, not how to get saved.

Revelations. Book of prophecy, that explains in symbolic language, end time events to come.

5) We need to pray, study, and work out (work AT KEEPING) our own salvation with fear and trembling.

1 Thessalonians 5:17

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁷Pray without ceasing.

2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Philippians 2:12
Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

6) We DO need to fear God, not just respect him.

Luke 12:4-5

King James Version (KJV)

⁴And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
⁵But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.

We study the word of God because we love him and want to learn his ways and obey. But, we all have weak moments. We ALL have times when we don't FEEL like it. So, if we have legitimate fear of God in our lives, this fear will cause us to do what we are supposed to do when not doing it would be the easier way.

Because we fear God, we will be diligent in our studies to try our best and ensure that we are NOT mishandling the word of God or misinterpreting the word of God. It really is that simple.

Yes, over time our fear of God changes into a deep love for and longing for God. But, the fear is still the basis we must stand on.

In closing, my friends, we MUST "study to shew ourselves approved, a workman that needeth NOT to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth". Get in there. Compare what you hear to the Bible. Let God teach you through his word. Stay between the lines on God's highway of holiness and you won't find yourselves running into a tree for going off the road.

The real church needs to stand up and be counted.

2011-08-14T10:40:00.000-04:00

2 Corinthians 6:¹⁵And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

¹⁶And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

¹⁷Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.

¹⁸And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

1 Peter 1:¹³Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; ¹⁴As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

¹⁵But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

¹⁶Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

For years we've heard that we are to "come out from among them (the world) and be ye separate", and that we are to be "Holy" because HE is "Holy". Without getting into all the in's and out's of this (we will in another blog post), I need to respond to a current false teaching that is out there.

According to these false teachers, we've all misunderstood and taken out of context, these verses above. Somehow they seem to believe that God has "let down his guard" on this. That, even though these same concepts are repeated in both testaments of scripture, it doesn't really mean that we have to live, act, think, dress, etc differently than the rest of the world. Yes, they acknowledge that God DID mean that in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament, we are under "Grace" and need not worry about trying to "live right", for it was all taken care of on Calvary.

They even use 1 Corinthians 8 in an effort to try and say that those of us who DO hold to biblical standards are somehow the weak minded and weak faith ones. I have recently heard this teaching in a church with my own ears. I was shocked. Here was this pastor of a supposedly Apostolic church trying very hard to explain away the biblical requirements to live godly by twisting scriptures to try and make them say what they do not say.

My friends, re-read the above scriptures and there can be no doubt as to what we are called to do- COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM AND BE (LIVE A LIFESTYLE) SEPARATE from the way the world lives. There are MANY more scriptures that you can point to that teach this same concept in the NEW Testament.

^{1 Peter 2:9}But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light;

¹⁰Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Read the whole rest of the chapter. The verses before talk of what God has done for us and culminate with these verses. The rest of the chapter gets into how we should NOT live.

^{Philippians2:12}Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
¹³For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
¹⁴Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
¹⁵That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

Here is the nitty gritty. YES, it is GOD (if we have been biblically born again through Acts 2:38) that works IN us and gives us the will power and the strength to do what he wants us to do. We cannot live for God in the flesh, without his power to accomplish it, and think that our own works will be enough to get us through the pearly gates.

However, we are ordered in this scripture and in many ways in other scriptures, to work out (live out) our salvation with fear and trembling. Contrary to popular opinion, we ARE supposed to fear God and obey his commandments. We were grafted into God's vine and if we do not give it our all, then sin can creep in and we can become unfruitful and barren. At that point, we ARE in danger of losing out with God. So, with FEAR and trembling, we live out our relationship with God daily.

Grace is NOT "unmerited favor", that's Mercy. Grace is a salvational relationship WITH God, where we work WITH God to allow him to shape us and mold us into HIS image. This, by definition, requires us to live, act, think, dress, etc completely different from the world.

I'm not saying we should become Amish. However, over time, if we have been born again, our lifestyles and dress should begin to change and begin to differentiate us from the way the world does things. If we, after a time of walking with God, are not changing- pulling further away from the world and closer to God, then we need to enter into deep prayer and fasting and "check our Holy Ghost".

We ARE to live IN this world and NOT BE OF this world. We need to avoid and shun the ungodly and profane in our world. Not all styles of clothing are ungodly, but some are. Not all amusements in this world are ungodly, but some are. Not all occupations out there are ungodly, but some are.

God gives us guidelines in his word that we are to live by. Unfortunately, many are throwing these guidelines out the door in an effort to "win the lost". If we compromise biblical ways of life in an effort to win them to God, what are we winning them to? If our lifestyles are the same as theirs, they have no need to change anything when they come to Jesus. Further, what are they repenting of that's different from us if our lives are the same? They do things for what feels good and seems right to them. Can we do the same things that they do-only in the name of Jesus- and actually think to win them to him?

Separation and Holiness are STILL required in order to remain a Christian. Anyone who teaches differently, is a false prophet. That's the bottom line.

It's time to die!

2011-07-27T12:32:00.000-04:00

Leviticus 27: 28-29

²⁸Notwithstanding no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto the LORD of all that he hath, both of man and beast, and of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto the LORD.

²⁹None devoted, which shall be devoted of men, shall be redeemed; but shall surely be put to death.

Mark 8:35
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.

2 Timothy 3:13
But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

We live in an ever changing world. It seems that no sooner have we all gotten adjusted to living with the "new things" we have in our lives, then along comes the newest thing that makes OUR former "new thing" obsolete.

I am old enough to remember the old vinyl records (33's and 45's) that were around for decades. Then, the 8-track came along and made them obsolete. Less than a decade later, cassettes came along and away into oblivion went the 8-track. Cassettes hung around for a while, it seemed, until the CD took the world by storm! Now, we have MP3's and MP4's that have made most CD's obsolete- much to my personal chagrin.

There have been many changes in our society, as well. Our Government began as a Constitutional Republic. Unfortunately, over the last 100 years (and especially the last 50 years), the powers that be have slowly and steadily whittled away at our Constitution and changed our Government in such a way as to place centralized authority in the Federal Government, and push the states to their collective knees. Government "aid programs" have created a populace that all to easily looks to the Government for their help and support- a FAR cry from the founding Fathers and Settlers, who looked to God and their own backs to make their living and to help their neighbors in need.

The problem with all this technology is that, as good as it is, it has made us somehow lazier and less willing to work hard to earn our keep. The problem with the welfare state is that Socialism ALWAYS either leads to Communism or Fascism- both of which have killed millions in the name of "the greater societal good". The truth be told, these 2 "isms" wind up killing off people in order to consolidate their own power and control the populace.

What does this have to do with the verses above? EVERYTHING!

As Christians, we are called to give Jesus our all, understanding that it is in HIM that we live and breathe and have our being! It is HE who exalts and throws down. It is HE who gives us freedom of choice, but somehow works through our choices for our good and his glory. "Whosoever will find his life, shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life, shall find it." We just need to lose ourselves in him.

We spend most of our waking hours trying to figure out how to live our lives and care for our needs. The truth is that what we need to do is DIE to ourselves and allow Jesus complete control. HE cares for our every need- so why worry? HE lives to care for us, so why fret? The future is unsure, but we can trust our lives into the hands of the one who controls the future.

While the world is going crazy around us, and the things that we try and anchor our lives to keep changing and disappearing, we need to anchor ourselves to Jesus. Politics, while important, won't save a soul. Jobs, though necessary, will change and disappear to be replaced by something else. Even churches and ministries change. One pastor leaves and is replaced by another who does things differently and sees things slightly different than the one we knew and loved for so long.

The only true ROCK in this old world is Jesus! HE is the only one we can count on. HE will never fail us.

Will we fail him? Sometimes. We are human, after all. But, when we repent, he is right there to pick up the pieces and help us to put our lives together again. We can keep this to a minimum, however.

Just as the Leviticus passage above says, the things that we have dedicated to God are his, and are dead to this world! When our old man tries to rise up and get us to go back to the things we used to do, we need to get on our knees and kill him all over again, through repentance. No matter how enticing the "new thing" appears to be, HOLD on to Jesus, and tell the devil NO.

If, as the old song says, we will just "Hold to God's unchanging hands", HE will see us through to the finish, both in THIS life, and the world to come.

Melchesidek

2011-05-23T19:01:00.000-04:00

Todays blog is actually written by Greg Patkowsky, a friend of mine via Facebook. We got into a discussion on Melchesidek and while I and others were arguing back and forth, Greg went and studied it out. It's VERY Good. Hope and pray you all enjoy this! Greg said I could use it, so here goes!

Melchizedek –

Genesis 14:18-20, “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.”

What ministry did Melchizedek have? We do not know, other than the word states “he was the priest of the most high God.” I would like to take special notice to the wording there, not a priest of the most high God, THE priest of the most high God. Why would Moses word it that way? As well, the priesthood had not been established yet, the Levitical priesthood did not descend from Melchizedek and the only one to be in the priestly line of Melchizedek is…Jesus. Why would, out of all the "men" he met in his life, Abram give tithes to this "man". There was no law to tithe, yet. Firstfruits were offered only to God before the law. Melchizedek only has three verses in all of the OT, one refers to Jesus; Psalm 110:4 which states Jesus is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. We see Melchizedek being referred to as a priest forever and the King of Salem; most Jewish commentators say yes, it's Jerusalem yet Jerusalem didn't exist at the time Melchizedek was King. What we do know from Scripture and studying the words used, Salem also means peace - King of Peace. We know God is not that author of confusion but of peace; Jesus was called by Isaiah the Prince of Peace. All this starts to come together and unfold as we read the Scriptures. Now we move forward to the writer of Hebrews speaking about Melchisedec (Melchizedek).

Melchisedec is brought up by the author of Hebrews, in Hebrews Chapter 7. In verses 1-2 the author is basically quoting Genesis 14:18-20 and reiterates Salem is peace, as opposed to being an actual location, there is no mention of an actual place which Melchisedec ruled over. Then we have verse 3 where we learn some interesting things about Melchizedek.

Hebrews 7:3, “Without father {Strong’s G540 – Apator ; fatherless, i.e. of unrecorded paternity: - without father. Apator signifies in Heb 7:3 with no recorded genealogy}, without mother {Strong’s G282 – ametor; motherless, i.e. of unknown maternity: - without mother } , without descent {Strong’s G35 – unregistered as to birth – without descent. This word is rendered "without genealogy" in Heb 7:3.}, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.”

From this one verse we learn Melchizedek:

1. Had no father – fatherless
2. Had no mother – motherless
3. Was of no descent – no genealogy
4. Was made "like" unto the Son of God
5. Is a priest forever - Abideth a priest continually – Strong’s 1519/1336 – 1519 – eis; to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), or place, time or (fig) purpose (result, etc.)…continual… 1336 – dienekes – perpetually: - + continually + 1519, forever… a priest forever.

Referring back to number 5 above; “made like” - Strong’s G871 – aphomoioo; to assimilate closely: - make like; to cause a model to pass off into an image or shape like it; to express itself in it, to copy; to produce a facsimile; to be made like, render similar. Jesus hadn’t been manifest yet; for this “man” to be made like Jesus, he could not have been a “man”, but like a “man”, yet not any man, Jesus Himself; only God would have knowledge these things.

Now, there is contention because of vs. 4 yes? The author says "…this man…" If you look up "this man" there is no definitive evidence stating Melchizedek was a human being (see Strong's G3778 – houtos). I understand this did not come with the actual wording "God was Melchizedek in the form of a man”… yet all the evidence from Scripture shows Melchizedek to not be “human”. Verse 6 was brought up as well, yet I think there is a misunderstanding of the wording; Heb 7:6, “But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.” I’m not sure the contention here, yet this verse is simply stating Melchizedek, who does not have his descent from them (the Levites) received tithes from Abraham and Melchizedek blessed him (Abraham) who had the promises. Again as we roll out the Scripture and look at it not only from our own point of view, or interpretation but from what is really being said; no man can be on this earth without a mother and father, barring Jesus Himself who had no earthly Father. Jesus had not manifested Himself in the flesh, yet this “man” was made like unto the Son of God…again only God would have knowledge these things. I again can only come to the conclusion; Melchizedek was not a “man”, yet a shadow/type, theophany. I do not nor will I ever claim to know all, if I missed something or if I can be shown otherwise I will take it under consideration. JBU all!!!

I believe, Part 1

2011-02-21T10:24:00.001-05:00

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths."

I'm 45 years old now (have been for about 3 months). Many folks around my age are hitting midlife crisis time. They are trying very hard to somehow regain their lost youth. For some of them, this has meant descending into lifestyles that they never had pursued before. This decision can destroy the relationships they've built over their lifetimes. I chose not to follow this road and am praying for those that do.

However, having felt the pull of "old age" in my heart, it has entered my mind that I have lived more than half my life already. What sort of things would I have left behind for my family if I were to die today? I'm not speaking of worldly goods- though I'd love to leave them which as much as I possibly could. I'm referring to beliefs and practices in this life that will not only help them here, but will help them to make it to be with Jesus forever.

So, if you will indulge me, I'd like to begin a "good midlife crisis" by writing some principles and precepts that will help my children, and hopefully, you to successfully navigate this life in following Jesus. I do not write these things to point a finger at anyone else's beliefs. Rather, I have chosen to call this series of blogs, "I believe", for they are just that: things that I believe. If you have a different belief than I do in a certain area, then that is between you and God- not between you and I. That said, let me begin.

The central belief of all beliefs in my life (and, I believe, should be in all of our lives) is God. Who is he? Who is he in our lives? What does he expect of us? And so on.

God is the sole creator of all things (us included). He is an omnipresent, omniscient, all-powerful God. There is no place in the cosmos where he is not. There is nothing that he does not know. There is no power that can even come remotely close to his power. He is God ALONE! There is absolutely only one God. Not two. Not three. Not many. Only one. He is the first and the last. The beginning and the end. The final end of all discussion and argument. It is HIS way and ideas that matter in the end- not ours. He has the power to force all of us to believe and to do things his way.

Yet, he also loves us. As such, HE choses to limit himself in his dealings with us. He is absolute power in absolute control. Though he has the power to force us, he choses NOT to because of his great love for us. He created us to have something he could not have with the Angels- an intimate, loving relationship. This is only possible because he has given us something he never gave any other creature in all of creation- freedom of choice. After all, who wants a spouse that is forced to love you? Who wants a spouse that tries to please you out of necessity, rather than out of love? God created man in order to create his bride! We are created and empowered with a capacity to love because that is exactly what God desires from us- our unconditional love.

However, our sin interfered. This sin, because of God's holiness, prevented us humans from becoming what we were created to be. Therefore, God instituted a plan to fix the problem. Sin had to be paid for. God's judgement demands payment for sin. But his loving heart aches for relationship with us in spite of our sin. So, he began the sacrificial system.

It began in the garden of Eden, when God slayed, I believe, a lamb in order to clothe Adam and Eve and shed blood to temporarily pay for their sin. A lamb per person. This was why Cain's sacrifice wasn't accepted- no blood as God had ordained. Faith isn't just belief. Faith is also obedience! In fact, James writes that Faith without works is dead! There is no true faith without obeying God's word on how to walk out that faith. Any faith that does not also include obedience is no true faith at all. After all, our actions always follow our beliefs- irregardless of what we say.

Later, God expanded his sacrificial system from a lamb per person, to a lab per family- at the passover. The head of the home- the man, by the way, would take the lamb and sacrifice it as a covering of blood for the whole family. Then, at the institution of the law, it became a lamb per nation- on the day of of atonement. The high priest would sacrifice the lamb and sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat in the temple- atoning for the sins of the nation.

But, these were just temporary stop-gap measures. In truth, no blood, that did not come from a sinless man, could eternally atone for our sins. Because God had declared MAN's death to be the price of MAN's sin, the sacrifice of animal's could only be a temporary fix to roll back our sins for another year. It would require the blood of a sinless man to pay the penalty for the sins of humanity. But, what man was perfect? All mankind had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So, God made a decision.

God formed a body in the womb of a virgin girl named Mary. And in this body HE inhabited himself! Not all of himself, to be sure- because he is everywhere in the universe. He did place all of his fullness there, however. All of his attributes- love, humility, judgement, righteousness, hatred of sin, power, might, majesty, holiness, etc. were embodied in the body of Jesus! This is why Jesus told Nicodemus that not only was he there speaking with him on earth, but he was also in heaven at the same time! (John 3:13 KJV)

In this body, God lived a perfect, sinless life. In the end, this is why Jesus was able to be "the lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world." Now, through his shed blood, his burial, his resurrection, we can become a child of God and a part of the bride of Christ. Thessalonians clearly says that we must OBEY the Gospel. The Gospel, according to 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4, is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. We obey this by repentance (death), baptism in Jesus name (burial), and the infilling of the Holy Ghost (resurrection). The sign of receiving the Holy Ghost is speaking in tongues. This is the biblical "sound" that Jesus said would be heard when a person is born of the spirit (John 3: 1-7).

There is much more that I shall get into, in the near future. Again, it is not my desire in this to offend anyone, but it is my desire to leave for my loved ones a basis for life to live on. God bless you all. May you walk with Jesus all of your days!

Don't Give Up.....

2010-12-25T20:08:00.000-05:00

Who wants to be a healer?

2010-12-05T15:11:00.000-05:00

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent me to HEAL the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised...." Luke 4:18

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to BIND UP the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of prison to those that are bound..." Isaiah 61:1

"And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

I've been born again now for twenty years this month. In that time, I have heard Matthew 16:16 preached and taught on many times. Unfortunately, I think we may have missed something vital here.

We have been taught militant, warrior Christianity. Believe me, I have no problem with that, nor with believing we are in the midst of major spiritual battles. However, if you've been in this thing for very long at all, you've heard some things like this: "I BIND you, Satan!" "Devil, we BIND you in the name of Jesus." "We BIND this sickness..."

Sounds good, right? We are told that we battle with spiritual powers in high places. We are to pray for the sick and cast out devils, right? There's just one small problem. That's all we focus on. The word for bind, in the Greek DOES carry, in it's definition, the concept of binding an enemy. However, is there a connotation we have missed?

Jesus came, died, was buried, and rose again. He left the church, empowered by HIS Spirit and HIS love, to continue HIS mission. HIS mission, in part, was to "BIND UP the broken hearted."Luke says it this way, "HEAL the broken hearted." So how is HEALING, called BINDING? Surely Jesus doesn't want people all bound up?

The truth of the matter is that BIND up in the sense of healing is like placing bandages on wounds. We are supposed to let Jesus love the broken hearted through us, placing a spiritual bandage on them so that they can then begin the process of emotional and spiritual healing.

Even the military has people in the medical fields, in order to help to save and heal the wounded. We as God's Army and children, are supposed to have healers among us, too. It's not all about battle. Sometimes, it's about loving the wounded so God can heal them and "set at liberty them that are bruised."

There's an old Gospel song, sung by the Imperials, that says, "You're the only Jesus some will ever see. And you're the only words of life some will ever read. So let them see in you the one in whom is all they'll ever need. Cause, You're the only Jesus some will ever see."

So this is a call to all of us warriors out there. How many of us are tired of the constant battle? How many of us don't just want to see the captives set free from their bonds, but also made whole of their emotional and spiritual wounds, as well? Who wants to be a healer?

The false prophets are here!

2010-10-24T18:44:00.000-04:00

"Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many...And many false prophets shall rise, and deceive many..." Matthew 24: 4-5,11

A good friend of mine reminded me of an occurrence near Atlanta, Ga, a few years ago. A woman claimed that "the virgin Mary" had appeared to her and told her that the water in her well was now blesses and was, in fact, Holy water. Somehow, this news item hit the main stream news and it became an international sensation. People by the thousands began to show up at this woman's house. She began to sell small vials of this "Holy" water for $8.00 a vial. Tour buses were chartered to bring the people, seeking a sign from God and a blessing. This woman sold many, many bottles of water.

Finally, the state of Ga decided it might be a good idea to investigate the cleanliness of the "Holy Water", since it was being sold to the public. So, the health department was sent out to test it. Low, and behold, they discovered that this "holy water" was not so holy! "Holy" as you know, means "pure". This "pure" water was not only not pure, it was so contaminated that the state shut off the use of the well, even the use of the woman who owned it.

This is a sad case of people being hungry for God, but looking for him in all the wrong places. Many are the false religions that claim to have a insight from God, given to them by an Angel (i.e. Mormonism, Islam, etc), even though scripture tells us that "if we, or an angel from heaven, preach unto you any other Gospel, let them be accursed". Yet, many follow after the latest fad, the latest faith healer, the latest soul winning gimmick, the biggest named preachers who have been falling by the wayside by the droves lately.

The truth is that we don't need to seek after a sign from God. Scripture says that "these signs shall follow them that believe." We are not to follow after men, for men will always let us down. Even Godly men make mistakes. We are to, in all things, "seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you."

Whatever our need, Jesus is our answer. However dire the situation may be, Jesus is our way out. Many false religions prosper because they fool well meaning men and women by their good works. This is possible because people don't like to pray and study to show themselves approved of God. Politicians use the word of God to get elected, but live lives about as far away from a godly lifestyle as heaven is from hell.

The bottom line is this: "Buy the truth and sell it not." Jesus says "I am the truth." Therefore we are to give all the we have, are, and ever will be to obtaining a relationship with our almighty God- Jesus!

More of you, Lord!

2010-10-06T17:38:00.001-04:00

" Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:12-14

I must make a confession: I am fidgety. I am not satisfied. I have a strong yearning in my heart to see what I haven't seen before, do what I haven't done before- go far beyond the places in God that I have been to.
I've been born again since December of 1990. I've been preaching since Easter weekend of 1998 (I say Easter, not to glorify the word, but to give a timeline that people can understand). I've seen many things:

I've seen healing, on many occasions.

I've seen demons cast out of folks.

I've seen folks born again.

I've seen lack and I've seen plenty.

I've seen God repeatedly open doors and make ways where there seemed to be no way.

We've been loved and maligned, hurt and healed, thrown down and lifted up, praised on hated, yet, through it all, Jesus has been faithful!

When I first came to the Lord, it was because I was hungry for more than the dry religion I had been raised in could ever offer me. Something had to give. Something had to change. And change me he did!

Now, I have a yearning inside of me, not an emptiness like before, but a drawing to a deeper place than I've ever been. Greater submission. Greater prayer. Greater study. Greater relationship with Jesus, out of which will grow greater ministry to effect change in the spiritual lives of many that we meet.

I LONG to be about my Father's business! I yearn to grow to that place where he CAN open those doors. Right now, I feel like the child looking through the candy store window- I can see the good things on the inside of the store, but the window and the lack of currency in my pocket prevent me from having it.

Yesterday's blessings were great, but they are gone with the winds. Great memories, but nothing I can eat right now- this instant. Yesterday's words and directions were great, but what now?

Oh, Lord, open my eyes, let me see through your eyes! Teach me the ways I need to know! Equip me for your service! Open the door and let me feast with you and lead others to your table! I'm weary of just having the uniform, Lord. Please, place me on the playing field! I will fight the good fight! I will stand for your righteousness and speak your words without fear or favor!

In Ezekial 47, you speak of waters to the ankles, the knees, the loins, and to swim in. I'm grateful for each level, Lord. I'm thankful for the initial salvational waters to the ankles, that changed the direction of my life and the way that I walked. I'm grateful for the waters to my knees that taught me how to pray and seek your face. I love the waters to my loins that help me be of sound mind and in self control of my base human desires. But Lord, I want more!

I long to swim in your holy waters! I yearn to be moved by the current waters of your Holy Spirit inside of me! A place where you direct everything! A place where my feet cannot touch the bottom and my hands cannot touch the sides. A place where YOU are in complete control!

Please, Lord, Let me go swimming! I long to be in the place with you that we read of the early Apostles being in, where thousands are born again, cities are changed, multitudes are healed, the fear of the Lord reigns, and the peaceable fruit of righteousness reigned amongst your people. Lord, take us there!

We are your people and you are our God! Take us all there and beyond, for your word says that the glory of the latter house shall be greater than the glory of the former. Please, Lord. We are not worthy, in and of ourselves to be a part of your promised revival. But you make us worthy through your blood and spirit. Help us to love you above all, love others as ourselves, and love not our lives- even unto death.

In Jesus name! AMEN!

Spirit AND Truth- not just truth!

2010-09-12T22:24:00.000-04:00

          Today I was angered. I was having a simple conversation about a doctrinal issue and the responses I was given by my brethren were insulting to me. You see, there are at least two sides to every scripture. One is the cold, hard facts of it. The other is the spiritual side. Both complement each other. Let me try and explain where I'm coming from.
          Jesus had a problem with the Pharisees. They were too focused on keeping the "Law". They were proud of their knowledge. Proud of their holiness. They were "God's people", but their actions sometimes bore little resemblance to the real God they claimed to serve.
         His solution? He informed them in no uncertian terms just how unrighteous they were. He told us all that we must worship God in "Spirit and in truth". Why? a) Because the scriptures are SPIRITUALLY understood, and b) "The letter kills, but the spirit gives life."
         You see, Jesus didn't say that the world would know his followers by their doctrines (though that is important) or their holiness standards. Jesus said they will know us by our AGAPE! The word of God is quick and powerful, but I'm afraid that we've all become so focused on OUR truths and OUR righteousness that we've started to become modern day pharisees!
          Jesus gave us his word as a) a fencepost to stay within and b) a road map to relationship with him! Our doctrines do need to stay biblical, but if our doctrines don't lead us to a deeper love relationship with God- and, by extension, to other people- then our doctrines need to be questioned.
          We are soooo overly proud of our truth that we wear it like a battle armor and use it as a sword to slash the unbelieving infidels. We are, in fact, almost spiritual Muslims in this. Those that disagree with our doctrines are ostracized and condemned. We may not cut off their physical heads, but how many have been killed by our harsh words?
          I'm not advocating false doctrine. We must stand on the truth. But truth is NOT a pet doctrine. Jesus said , "I am the way, the TRUTH, and the life." Our doctrines should lead us into deeper relationship with him. When we get deeper in him, our love for each other and for the unregenerate sinner should GROW DEEPER! We should become MORE loving and MORE helpful of others- NOT more judgemental and haughty!
         When Revelations says that we will overcome by "the word of our testimony", it is not the dry doctrine it refers to. rather, since Jesus is THE WORD MADE FLESH, we will overcome by the JESUS of our testimony. We need to ask ourselves, which Jesus am I portraying to the world? If we are portraying his passionate, unselfish, humble, giving, and sacrificial love to each other and the world at large, then we are doing right. If all they see, however, is a smug, selfish, and holier than thou critic of their every move, then we need to pray back through! After all, it's all about relationship, not religion.
         Just a thought to ponder.

Will the real church of God, PLEASE come out from among them?

2010-08-29T18:56:00.005-04:00

Most of the time, when I write one of these blogs, I tend to have a pattern. I begin with a few scriptures, and then expound upon them to get the point across that I feel God wishes to tell us all. This time, it's different. This time, I'm just going to write from my heart.

For many years, my family and I have struggled. We have fought enemies real, enemies imagined, enemies spiritual, and enemies physical. This struggle has cost us friendships, ministerial contacts, money, and who knows what else. Why have we done this?

We have tried with all our might to be, what one author calls, "God chasers". It is our desire to be with God. It is our desire to be in the middle of what God is doing in these last days. Unfortunately, when you step out to truly follow God, there are MANY voices (in and out of the church), that try and tear you down and stop you!

All we want to do is be a help to the kingdom of God and God's people. If God will help me, and I have not arrived yet, I would like to point out a few things we've learned along the way. Maybe this will be of help to someone out there.

1) Holiness IS required by God, but it is NOT a checklist of rules and regulations! Holiness is a real relationship WITH God! It is God living HIS life in and through us! I cannot be holy, as he is holy, unless he is the one doing the living in my life!

2) Standard. This is the word we "holiness people" like to use when we are referring to the list of do's and don'ts that we believe will get us into heaven. First of all, it is NOT these rules that will get us into heaven. It is, simply and totally, our relationship WITH HIM that gets us in. If we stay in relationship with him, we will naturally live the way he wishes. We will also stay under the blood, keeping us washed whiter than snow. When we begin to follow our standards, but neglect our relationship, we are backslidden!

Secondly, the word standard in scripture doesn't even mean "rules to follow". A standard, in scripture, was the flag that carried the kings emblem on it. When this standard was raised, it caused a beaten down and battered army to look, remember their just cause, regroup and fight for their righteous king. Jesus said, "If I (not these rules), but if I be lifted up, I will draw all men." The standard we need to be lifting is JESUS! We are called to introduce people to Jesus, not our rules!

I'm not saying that scripture doesn't give us do's and don'ts- it does! I am not trying to throw out all of our rules (though some of them are unbiblical and need to be tossed). What I am trying to say is that we have erred. We have placed so much emphasis on our rules, that we have given a false impression to people. We've unwittingly taught them that it is the rules that save them. I have personally seen many "saints" who lined up from head to toe to the "standards", but are as cold as a block of ice, hateful as a mad wolf, and as manipulating as any witch or politician. Yet, they are told if they come to church and check the blocks the preacher tells them to, they will make heaven. God help them on judgement day.

3) Church. Church is NOT the building. Going to church, to quote Kieth Green, won't make you a Christian any more than going to McDonald's will make you a hamburger. When the scripture says to forsake not the gathering of yourselves together, it is NOT referring to a building. Don't get me wrong. If you have a building to assemble in, great! Praise God for it. But that building is not "the church". The church is the people, the bride of Christ that he died on a cross to redeem. Many are the people who think that if you don't go to a building, you're breaking scripture. Many are the people who believe that because they darkened the door of the building, they checked the block, meeting the requirement of gathering together. Again, we have erred.

4) The "church" today is quickly becoming a "bless me club". Sermons are given that tell people how God will bless them, wants to bless them, how to line yourself up in order to receive the blessing. Where is the cry for repentance? Where are the cries to righteousness? Where are the preachers who will stand against sin- naming it specifically, instead of glossing it over as a vague concept. The law, scripture says, is the school teacher to lead us to Christ. Specific sins are named so that we can then see our need for cleansing in the blood of Jesus. The average church today teaches another Gospel, not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

5) The Bible gives us specific instructions on how to live in EVERY area of our lives. There is more to being a Christian than Acts 2:38 and the oneness of God. But even those things are done in relationship with our creator, not on our own.

6) Todays churches are becoming educated and sleek. Professional preachers, impeccably dressed, preach in front of professional choirs, to a congregation of professional Christians, who proudly hold their head up because they go to Brother "X"'s church. We look down on the worldly singers and celebrities, yet we make our own to follow! In the mean time, lost souls are dying by the thousands right outside the church doors, but these are not reached out to because they can't pay tithes and will be a burden on the pastor and the people to straighten out their lives! God help us! Return us back to the days where all we want is Jesus! Help us Lord to see people through Your eyes!

7) The Apostate church is growing in numbers and notoriety! While many are the people- hungry for God's true words, that are starving in the temples!

It is time for God's people to stand up! It is time for a modern day Pentecost! It is time for the remnant of the bride of Christ to come out from among the worldly church and begin to be the arms, eyes, mouthpiece, and heart of our Lord to a lost and dying world! Lord, help us to find your mind for each of our lives! Help us to find the fields that you would have each of us to work in! Send laborers to the fields to help us and bring forth the promised end time revival! Oh, How my heart longs to be in the middle of what you are doing!

May God help us all!

All kids argue.

2010-07-21T13:09:00.003-04:00

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6

"He that is weak in the faith, receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations" -Romans 14:1

"Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves." - Philippians 2:3

"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." -John 13:35

I love facebook. I love the interaction between friends and colleagues. I love meeting new people who are part of the body of Christ. I enjoy the conversation, the testimonies, and (surprise to those who know me- wink, wink) the debates. If I have a life verse, as they call it, outside of ACTS 2:38, it would probably be the Proverb that says "As Iron sharpens Iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." In short, put another way, I'll have to begrudgingly admit that- long pause as I gather courage to say it- I enjoy a good argument.

I don't look at it as being hard headed or thinking that I'm always right. My mother, however, used to say that there is a right way, a wrong way, and Mike's way. I guess that means I'm a bit peculiar. I am, in short, opinionated.

I don't mean to come across as a "know it all", at all. I can be a little sure of my opinions, however. To some, this has come across like I think I know it all. Let me be clear- I do NOT know everything. I don't claim to know everything. I will never know everything in this lifetime.

That said, I love to study the word of God and share what God illuminates to me there. Sometimes this sharing has rankled a few feathers of my fellow preachers. Let me say to you all, I'm sorry for upsetting you.

You have your walk with God and I have mine. Some of you and I can agree and get along well. Others of you and I tend to agree to disagree a lot. That's ok, too. We are all at differing levels of understanding of God's word in differing areas of that word. Some of us may know more in one area than others. Others know more in other areas than still others. All of this is ok. We are all God's children and God's kids will argue and disagree from time to time.

The problem comes where we, and I do say WE (me included 4 fingers pointing back at me), get so upset over the others arguments that we go too far. We push so hard to prove a point that we make the other one tend to feel like we think we're better than them, or that they're stupid, or some other such nonsense.

Scripture tells us to esteem each other as being higher than ourselves. I can heartily agree with Paul when he said he was the "least" of the Apostles. We may all be preachers, but many of you have done far more for the kingdom than I've ever dreamed of doing. Truly, I am the least of my brethren.

Scripture also says that we will one day come to a unity of faith. I'm not talking about the basic Bible doctrines like the oneness of God and the plan of salvation. Indeed, we should all have these down pat. It's the other stuff: definitions of holiness, what a Christian can and can't do, who were the sons of God, etc, where we get a little hung up on.

I believe the day of unity in these things will be the day he calls us home and explains it all to us.

I, and all of us, will probably be surprised, both at what we had right and what we had wrong. If we'll just hold on to Jesus- together-, pray with and for each other, show love TO each other, we'll make it. It's the love of God that will show the world that we are God's people, not our scripture quotations or our knowledge.

So, I said all of that to say this: To all those that I have offended in trying to prove a point, to all that I have hurt by the tone of what I said- or the inference of the words- PLEASE FORGIVE ME! It is not my intention to prove to you how great I am! I am nothing! Jesus is everything! For those who are higher up than I on God's food chain, pray for this hard headed preacher to learn to show a little more love!

Grace and unconditional security

2010-07-17T17:31:00.009-04:00

"For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God."

Ephesians 2:8

"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify the son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."

Hebrews 6: 4-6

"But I keep under my body, and bring it under subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."

1 Corinthians 9:27

"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed , not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

Philippians 2:12-13

There are some teachings that are very popular in "Christendom"- namely, Grace as God's unmerited favor, and unconditional eternal security (that we are saved once for all time- irregardless of what we do after salvation). Many base the unconditional teaching on the "fact" that Grace is God's unmerited favor.

After all, if we are saved by God's unmerited favor, then what can we do to add to that? How can we ever "fall away" from something that has been given to us, even though we haven't done anything to earn it? If salvation is a free and unearned gift, how can we ever lose it?

Here's the problem with this: the passage above in Hebrews, and many others, clearly refute unconditional security. Scripture says that - once a person has been born again and reached a certain level in their walk with God- and falls away from God, it is then IMPOSSIBLE to renew that person to repentance. Paul even said in 1 Corinthians that he worked hard at keeping his body under subjection to the Lord, because he feared becoming a castaway if he didn't!

If a person can become a castaway AFTER salvation, and a person can reach a point AFTER salvation where they can no longer get into a repentant place with God, then that person (or those people) can be lost AFTER salvation! Therefore, "unconditional eternal security" is a lie. It is true that, if a person desires to stay saved, and that person stays in right relationship with God, then they WILL hear, "Well DONE my good and faithful servant, enter ye in...". God will move heaven and earth to keep you saved. There is only one thing that God will not do in this regard: he will not break your will.

God has given us something he gave no animal nor Angel- free will. Animals do what they were made to do. Angels do God's will or become fallen Angels. God never tried to redeem Satan and the 1/3 of the Angels that rebelled with him. Yet, we fall, and God himself, as Abraham prophesied ("God will provide HIMSELF a lamb"), became a man- the lamb of God- and became the perfect sacrifice for our sins. This opened the door for, "whosoever will" to take part in the salvation he bought and paid for with his OWN blood (Acts 20:28).

Yet, for all this, we have freedom of choice. We can choose to enter into relationship with God, or not. Once we've chosen to enter that relationship, we can chose to leave that relationship as well. That's why scripture tells us to "work out (our) own salvation in fear and trembling." It's a choice. If we chose to leave our relationship with God, we lose our salvation, unless God grants us repentance- which he doesn't have to do.

God died for a bride that would love him. It is not his desire to have an "arranged and forced marriage." We either love and serve him out of genuine and loving relationship, or we don't. It's up to us.

As I've pointed out on this blog on other occasions, Grace is NOT the unmerited favor of God. Grace is a partnership relationship with God- see my earlier posts on Grace to see what I refer to. Unmerited favor from God is MERCY! Some say that the words mercy and grace are used interchangeably in the scriptures. Yet, there is not one place in the scriptures where this is true.

Mercy and Grace work interactively. Without mercy, we have no access to his grace. With Mercy, we CAN be in relationship with God. His Mercy drove him to the cross for our sins. His Grace opened his arms to say "whosoever will". His Mercy allows for us the chance for forgiveness. His Grace helps us to STAY forgiven. If grace is "God's unmerited favor", then how do we "grow in Grace" as Peter admonishes us to do? If, however, Grace is that divine partnership WITH God, then THIS we can grow in.

Some are saying that I'm making a mountain out of a molehill. What does it matter if someone's definition of Grace is wrong? So what if they believe that Grace is "unmerited favor", what difference does it make? It makes all the difference in this world- and the next.

I'm not saying that a person will go to hell simply because they have a wrong definition of the word. However, we tend to act out what we believe. Our actions, in fact, always follow what we believe. That's why James says for someone to show him there faith without works, but he will show his faith BY his works. Paul said we are to "work out" our salvation in fear and trembling.

We have two beliefs. They cannot both be correct. They are diametrically opposed.

"Unmerited favor" as Grace leads to the belief that salvation is a finished work. WE have no part to play in it. After all, we are "saved by "unmerited favor". It's a done deal. This belief flies in the face of the many scriptures that say we CAN lose out with God. Are there contradictions in the word of God. It also leads to ungodliness and worldliness in "the body of Christ." Why try if it's a done deal?

If Grace is a divine partnership, then it is a RELATIONSHIP with God that we can enter into because of his mercy (unmerited favor). A relationship that, like a marriage, must be tended to and worked at. God gives us the power and even the desire to do what he wants us to do, but the obedient choice is still ours to make.

This view of Grace is the scriptural one. This view tells us that "whosoever endureth unto the end, the same shall be saved." This view allows us to "work out our salvation" and "grow in relationship (grace)". This view leads to us striving to stay in right relationship with God. This opens the door for us to know God more- to know him deeper. This allows us to go from "glory to glory." That's why Paul himself worked hard at keeping his own body under subjection. He had to, out of love and out of fear, stay in that right relationship with God. If he didn't, he said he would become a castaway.

Anything less than a partnership with God (in which both God And we, give our all), is simply not biblical grace, it's a religion that bears no resemblance at all to the relationship that the Lord died to create.

Correction builds God's fruit into our lives- if we let it!

2010-07-11T19:15:00.006-04:00

" All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 2 timothy 3:16-17

"Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child: but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him."

Proverbs 22:15

"For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." Hebrew 12: 6-11

There are many people leaving the church these days. Don't get me wrong. I'm not a preacher that says you have to stay in the church you were born again in, or your a sinful church hopper. It is my belief that we are the body of Christ. God knows the best place for each part of his body to be. If he is leading someone to leave one good church and go to another, it is for the benefit of everyone involved. Go with God!

There are also some bad churches out there. If they are not teaching the truth, if they are getting worldly and allowing ungodliness to come in, pray for them- say something to the pastor (respectfully) if God wants you to. If, it gets too bad, AND God gives you the go ahead, leave there and go somewhere else.

My problem is with the ones who break with churches- and Christian friendships- for bad reasons. Namely, correction. Our society hates correction! Scripture says for us to spank our children in order to drive the foolishness far from them. That used to be an accepted practice in our world. Now, kids are told to call the police if their parents spank them.

The results of this nonsense has been devastating to our country. Murder is way up. Armed robbery is way up. Rape is way up. Divorce is way up. Homosexuality is not only accepted, but you can face legal problems if you stand against it. Our prisons are filled to overflowing and our society is spiraling out of control. All because we've left God and his ways!

We're seeing similarities in the church. If God leads a preacher or a brother/sister in the Lord to say "Be careful...", "Thus saith the Lord...", "The unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God..." and the like, many "Children of God" get offended and act like spoiled brats. HOW DARE THEY SAY THAT TO ME! You can almost hear the unspoken "Don't they know who I am? I'm a child of the king!"

Well, princes and princesses, scripture is replete with warnings to preachers to correct the saints and warnings to God's children to accept correction. I'll admit that some "men of God" have gone overboard. Some of us may actually misunderstand some of God's words. Some of us aren't as tactful as maybe we should be. We are "men of God", but, in the end, we ARE men. As such, we are not perfect and stand in need of correction from time to time, just like any other child of God.

However, Scripture tells us all that if we will endure his correction, from wherever he chooses to bring it, it will bring forth HIS righteousness (not ours) and HIS holiness (not our own) in
our lives. I didn't enjoy the spankings I got from my parents when I was growing up, but I'm now glad I received them. I don't enjoy it when God spanks me, either, but I KNOW it's for my good and HIS glory.

Through it all, I MUST "Buy the truth and sell it not". I MUST receive a LOVE for the truth, an unconditional AGAPE' love for his holy words. That kind of love will allow me to submit my will to God and allow him to continue to mold and make me into the "man of God" he wishes to make me to be. That kind of love will allow me to accept a gentle word from a concerned fellow Christian, or from a concerned preacher, with meekness of heart.

Instead of getting all bent out of shape about it, I can go home and enter my prayer closet with Bible in hand saying, "Lord, are you trying to tell me something here?" Instead of breaking fellowship, I can allow God to show me my own heart.

If I'm wrong, I can repent and ask forgiveness of whomever I need to ask it. If I'm right, I can then know that I'm standing on solid ground, look my accuser dead in the eye (with a heart filled with love) and tell them, "I understand where your coming from, but you're wrong on this one and here's why"- always with a heart towards reconciliation.

If it becomes a spiritual must for us to part ways, I can do it with a clean conscience towards God and love in my heart for my accuser. Always, we must strive to keep the unity of the faith. In order for this to happen, however, we must learn to humbly accept correction- for the greater good of us all!

After all, correction shows us our spots and blemishes. Repentance allows the blood to cleanse us and God to mold us into the image of Christ. No spots will enter heaven. It's that simple. It really is that simple.

A time for...prophets?

2010-06-27T16:15:00.003-04:00

"The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." Jeremiah 1:5

"To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven;" Ecclesiastes 3:1

"And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he (the Anti-Christ) corrupt by flatteries: but the people who do know their God shall be strong AND DO EXPLOITS. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many:..."

Recently, I was asked about my testimonies of my conversion and my call to preach. Since then, through some comments from my wife as well as some gentle nudgings of the spirit, God has had me go back and reexamine the passages he used to call me to preach. One of them was Jeremiah 1: 4-10.

The part that stuck out at me was, "I ordained thee a prophet...". I know what you're thinking: "Who is this guy to think he's a prophet? Will we see him on TBN soon? First of all, I don't think of myself as a prophet, most assuredly not one like the name it claim it hucksters of our day. God has been dropping some disturbing (to me) thoughts into my mind about this. Maybe I should think that way. In fact, maybe we should all think about ourselves that way.

We are entering the very end times. We are watching the beginnings of the final horrible days ahead. Some say we won't be here for the church will have been raptured. I don't happen to agree with that, though I wish it were true. Who really wants to be here and live through the time of Satan's wrath on Earth? Yet, we are told by another prophet (Daniel) that "the people that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits". In the midst of the awful days to come, we are told of how powerful God's people will become in the Lord. After all, doesn't the word also say that, "the glory of the latter house (us) will be greater than the glory of the former house" (the early church).

We've all been looking for that end time revival. We've all been praying for it to come, yet very little seems to be happening in God's kingdom nowadays. What's the difference?

In the OT, the revival was always brought on by a prophet- God's man for that hour- who would come with God's word for that generation. Many times he was used to show God's power in the land. When God's power was manifested, the people repented.

In the early church, it was the same, yet different. Yes, God had powerful leaders, and he showed up and showed out! Everything from casting out demons, to healing the sick, etc., was being done and many were converted. However, I would submit to you that our church structure seems to be the opposite of theirs.

"And he gave some, Apostles; and some, prophets; and some evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints; for the work of the ministry; for the edifying of the body of Christ." Eph. 4: 11-12

Our modern churches seem to be set up as a TOP DOWN hierarchy. We read these verses and are taught by many that these verses mean that:

It is the five fold ministries job to a) perfect the saints b) work the ministry, and c) edify the body of Christ. The sheep are to show up, worship, give their offerings, and hang on every word that their "enlightened leaders" say. Then they are free to go home and be all starry eyed about having been in the presence of God and, by extension, God's man. What if that's not what these verses mean?

What if they really mean that a) it is the 5-fold ministries job to help perfect the saints so that b) THEY (and us) can do the work of the ministry, in order that c) the body of Christ is edified (or grown and lifted up). What do I mean? It is the leaderships job to pray for, teach and correct, and lead God's people to higher places in God. For what reason? So that they, too, can learn to be used in ministry!

There are nine or more gifts of the spirit listed between 1 Cor 12 and Romans 12. These gifts are there and are available to the whole body of Christ, to be exercised by whoever God wishes to use in these capacities. "These signs shall follow THEM THAT BELIEVE.." Mark 16 says, yet in many churches, we are given the idea that only those special few on the platform can do these things. Indeed, in some places, the "sheep" are not allowed to operate in the gifts. If they do, they are accused of stepping into the pastors authority. How absurd!

On the flip side, if a congregation is encouraged to operate in the spirit of God, and taught how to do this, this gets a congregation excited! Why? They're involved. Their not just money giving pew warmers. They are an active part of what God is doing there. How many have been lost and have given up on God because they were not allowed to operate in the way God wished them to?

When they see a need for prayer and have the freedom to go do that? OH, what a difference that makes! When they have an opportunity to give a Bible study to a sinner, and that person (or people) get born again as a result? How excited will they get? How many more Bible studies will they give? How many, when they see the tears of joy and release on the face of the family that they just helped with groceries or a car, or their bills, or clothes, etc won't be encouraged to help more? Especially when they see the family they helped reached for God!

That's how it's supposed to work! We teach and preach and lead. We do take part in doing the work of the ministry, but God's people are let loose to let God work through them as well. The more God works through all of us, the more we are all willing to do more work for God. The more we see God doing, the more excited we become and want to see and experience more. This circle naturally edifies (lifts up and grows) the whole body of Christ. We all get closer and closer to God and see God doing more and more.

One of the gifts of the Spirit is Prophecy. We tend to think of it as "foretelling the future or giving divine warnings". If God chooses to use people that way, so be it. However, simply put, prophecy means, "to speak forth the word of God". Yes, there are gender specific requirements to certain offices in the church. But, anyone can be used to speak a word in due season to a hungry soul that they meet- if God directs. Anyone can be used to pray.

Yes, there is a specific office called a prophet that is part of the 5 fold ministry (prophetess is not a part of this), but anyone can prophecy. What does it say in Revelations about the end time saints (our generation?)?

"...And he said unto me, these are they they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb." (Rev 7:14) See, we are going through the great tribulation. Sorry, had to throw that in. But, how did they (we) make it through?

"And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto death" (Rev 12:11).

That kind of commitment only comes through great spiritual excitement and freedom. The TOP DOWN church system does not bring revival. Only a people that are freed to follow God and experience their own love affair with him can do this.

I'm not advocating "no fences". I'm not advocating the abolishing of "pastoral authority". Yes, people need guidance and people need correction. All of these things are covered, in detail, in the scriptures. My point is that the five fold ministry was never intended to take the place of God in peoples lives. When we do, we hinder the move of God. When we preach or teach what God gives us, and the service is over, other than prayer, that message is now between the hearers and GOD. We have no authority from God to run other peoples lives.

Will they make mistakes and mess things up? Of course! But would a parent rather help a fallen toddler get back up and try to walk again, or would they prefer that they never walk because there's a possibility they may get hurt, hurt someone else, or inconvenience us? If we want to see more people staying in the church and getting excited about the things of God, then we've got to let go the strangle hold we think we have to have in order that they won't get out of control. The beauty of living for God is that HE"S IN CONTROL, not us. We're just blessed to be able to be used by him to serve others.

We need more people to walk in the gifts of God, not a centralized few. We need more people to prophecy, not just the leadership. We need more people to teach God's truth and reach out to the lost, and help the hurting, and pray for the sick, NOT JUST "THE MINISTRY". Everyone who is born of God has a ministry. I say, let the saints loose and see what God does!

After all, in the end times, "The PEOPLE (not just the ministry) that do know their God shall be strong and do exploits" and "they that understand among the people (not just the ministry) shall instruct many. Let this begin the era of the "ministry of the saints" and watch God work. Let the prophets arise!

The Peace of God versus the God of Peace- 2 different levels in God

2010-06-20T10:06:00.004-04:00

" Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice.

Let you moderation be known unto all men, The Lord is at hand.

Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God that passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever ever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you." - Philippians 4: 4-9

A dear friend of mine sent me an encouraging word about keeping the peace of God in our hearts and lives, in spite of the cares of this old world. It was a great comfort to me. It also got me to thinking about this section of scripture. Maybe we should rethink some things.

REJOICE: When we, in our society, think of the word rejoice, we tend to think about exuberance. We picture loud clapping and shouting, etc- especially those of us in the Apostolic church. It's even been taught to us that if we aren't living our lives in this way that we don't have "the joy of the Lord" in our lives. Many is the person who has felt somehow, less than Christian, because they don't feel all joyful.

Unfortunately, those who believe this way are ignoring some obvious facts. Job, for example, was not at all happy and joyful in this way. In fact, Job said, "My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul." (Job 10: 1) He even went so far as to say, "I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; Show me wherefore thou contendest with me" (Job 10:2) Yet, scripture clearly says that, in God's view of him, "...and still he holdeth fast his integrity..." (Job 2:3).

So what does it mean to be joyful? To rejoice, in the Greek, means, "to be cheerful, i.e. CALMLY HAPPY or well off:..." Yes, it does include feeling happy sometimes. But, it also includes a calmness. A calm trust that, no matter what happens, God has our back. It also includes having a made up mind that, as Job said, "Though you slay me, yet will I trust you".

How can we do this in trials? "The joy of the Lord" is not, as some teach, an exuberant feeling that defies logic. It is a knowledge that, as long as we hold onto and follow him, God's personal joy is fulfilled. When he looks at our integrity in the face of all the demonic opposition, can he turn to Satan and ask about us, as he did of Job, "Have you considered my servant so and so?" Does God feel joyful when we get knocked down? No. But when we tap into his strength and stand back up again- continuing to "fight the good fight of faith", then God's joy overflows!

I can picture him on the throne watching as our enemy knocks us down. With a determined concern, he waits. Then we pray, he gives us strength, and we begin to rise up again. "Look", he tells the Angels and points! "Look, my child is getting back up! Oh, how I love that child!" Saints of God, we can endure any trouble or any trial- even up to death- as long as we know that God's joy is fulfilled! HIS JOY is our strength. When we know that we make him fill joy by our testimony, we can endure the hardships.

MODERATION: We, as Apostolics are all about letting our moderation be known unto all men, though some of us do it in a bragging and finger pointing way (which is not what this means). The word, in the Greek means, "Appropriate, mild". We believe that the scriptures teach us how we should live, think, talk, dress, and conduct ourselves in all areas of our lives. Unfortunately, to some of us, these principles have become almost a Pharisee like checklist. We almost get the attitude that, as long as we check off these things on our "holiness list" every so often, we are right with God.

My brethren, may I tell you that, if we believe this, our focus is wrong. Does God expect us to live in certain ways? Yes. We must strive to be conformed to his word. However, the focus of the word of God is not to give us more rules and regulations. He didn't save us and give us a checklist. The focus of the Gospel is for us to let HIM live his life THROUGH us. He wants our hands as his hands, our feet as his feet, our mouth as his mouth, our thoughts as his thoughts, etc. He is the vine and we are the branches. Our task is to get our flesh out of the way and let him live through us. It's about relationship with and submission to God! The closer we get to him, the more he lives through us and the less important we are to ourselves. We, like John the baptist, should cry out, "I must decrease that he might increase".

For the checklist brethren who fear what I just wrote, if we let God live through us, the checklist will naturally be taken care of. After all, if God gave us the "standards", then he will live those standards that are biblical through us. We must relinquish control of our lives and let him live through us and have control. "Holiness" doe not come from simple obedience. Holiness comes from a submitted life that allows God to live through it.

CAREFUL: Unlike our modern definition of the word, this word, in the Greek, means, "Anxious". Worry is the modern antithesis of faith. We worry about this. We worry about that. As such, we make contingency plans for this and that to try and minimize any possible damage for any possible scenario. Yet, when we realize that GOD is in control of our lives, not us, then we are free to simply pray and let God give us wisdom in every situation.

It also frees us to be able to thank God in every situation. If, in the midst of our trials, we understand that God is working every situation out for our good and his glory, then we are free to praise him in those trials- even when we don't see the answer to our dilemma on the horizon.

We also understand that our prayer requests are just that- requests. We may think that we know the best way that a given situation should be worked out. However, God knows best for every situation. When we make our faithful requests, we should understand that God sometimes tells us wait (because it's not the right time), or even no (because our solution is not the one that he thinks is the best solution). When we pray, we should end with "thy will be done", allowing that God IS God and he knows best for our lives.

If we do these things, mainly relinquishing control of our lives and letting God live through us, then we can experience the "peace of God which passeth ALL understanding" and this peace of God will keep (Greek: "to be a watcher in advance, to mount guard as a sentinel {post spies at the gates}, to hem in, protect) our hearts (emotions) and minds (thoughts) through Christ Jesus (relationship with him). We can have peace in the tough times, no matter how tough or confusing, as long as we know we are in a right relationship with Jesus!

That's one level in God. This is where the majority of us live and struggle in our walks with God (including myself). We struggle in the wildernesses of our lives. We strive to reach our promised land (I call this our areas of ministry). Yet, like Israel of old, we struggle to kill off our flesh. Therefore, like them, we find ourselves journeying in never ending circles in the wilderness. Yet, if we will just relinquish control and let God have it, we will finally be able to enter our promised lands! The wilderness is there to teach us to let go. The peace of God is there to help us through the wilderness.

The next level begins in verse 8, and it begins in our thought lives. We, as God's people, suffer from what one old time preacher called "stinkin thinkin". We don't think this will work out well. We don't like what we see in the world, our family, our brothers and sisters in the Lord, the church we attend, etc. We don't like the political situation. A myriad of negative thoughts constantly bombard us. I'm not saying that there aren't legitimate concerns in any or all of these areas. However, when we leave these concerns at the feet of Jesus, and trust him to care for these needs in his way, we can focus on other things.

We are to focus on (think on) things that are:

True (Greek: "true, as not concealing") - we must think about truth (God's truth), live out God's truth (by his power and spirit living through us), speak God's truth (without fear or favor), and hold on to God's truth (buy the truth and sell it not, the Proverbs declare!).

Honest (Greek: "venerable {deserving respect, from age, character, or associations}, honorable")- we must think honestly, act honestly, speak honestly, work honestly, etc.- even when such honesty may make us look bad in the eyes of others. We must hold fast to our integrity.

Just (Greek: "Equitable in character or act, innocent, holy") We should preach truth and live truth without showing favorites to one. It should not matter to us who has more or less money, who can help or who needs help, who has a pedigree or who doesn't, who has a high position in a company or government or denomination- or who lives under a bridge. God's word is for everyone irregardless of station in life or blood ties.

Pure (Greek: "clean, innocent, modest, perfect") We should be pure in all areas.

Lovely (Greek: "friendly towards, acceptable") We should show ourselves friendly (in Godly ways) and be accepting of whoever God brings our way to help.

Of Good Report (Greek: "well spoken of, reputable") Yes, as Christians, we are to stand against the evils of our society, however, we are also to praise those good things that we see and hear, as well. Give honor where honor is due!

Virtue (Greek: "manliness, excellence") This goes along with "Of Good Report", but deserves it's own category". Instead of the "feministic modern manhood" and the "don't strive for excellence but be as bad as everyone else" attitudes that have clearly taken stronghold in our world, we are to speak and live to be Godly men and strive for excellence.

Praise (Greek: "laudation, a commendable thing") Give honor where honor is due!

This is a heavy list. This is where our thought life should dwell. After all, Proverbs says that, "As a man thinketh, so is he". Just like a horse with a bit in it's mouth, we will naturally go in the direction that our head is going. We need to give God the reigns of our thought life and let him guide us where he sees fit for us to go. We are to be actively looking for truth, honesty, justice, purity, friendliness, things of good reputation, virtuous, and praiseworthy things.

Then, once we've thought on these things, we LEARN and RECEIVE, HEAR and DO (verse 9) these things. In so doing we reach the level that I believe the Apostles and many in the early church operated in: Verse 9 says "THE GOD OF PEACE shall be with you"!

This is both challenging and exciting to me. Instead of fumbling around in our wilderness, getting hurt and spanked, and having very little effect on our world. Instead of bellying up to the Holy Ghost table and reaching for huge portions of "the peace of God". Please, don't take it that I'm belittling the peace of God. On the contrary, I'm grateful for it! It's exactly that peace that has gotten me through many situations.

I believe, however, that God is trying to bring his church back to the level of the early church. Back to an age of Apostolic authority and power. If we, as God's people can somehow get to a place in God where we can get past verses 4-7 (which are important), then we can have the Apostolic revival that God has promised us! The Apostles walked so closely with God that the dead were raised, thousands were saved, and the mere contact with their shadow (mixed with faith in Jesus) brought healing. The lame walked, the dumb talked! They, put simply became an extension of God! They became his hands and feet, his mind and words. In other words, they became so close to Jesus that he was able to live THROUGH them and bring the revival he wanted to bring!

God desires for us to get so close to him that he can live through us and bring the revival that he longs to bring to this day and age. A revival that he prophesied with these words: "The Glory of the latter house (us) will be greater than the Glory of the former house (the early church)."

Lord, help us to get straight with you and get past our wildernesses. Help us to not be content with just being born again. Help us to want what you want!

We don't have to settle for "the peace" of the Rock, we can have the WHOLE MOUNTAIN- you!

The water does no good without the power!

2010-05-26T13:30:00.001-04:00

" All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you..." Matthew 28:18-20

"He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not not shall be damned."
Mark 16:16

"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name given among men men whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12

"For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence....But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you..." Acts 1:5,8

Recently, I was corresponding with one my young cousins. It seems the water was out at their house yesterday. It was restored today, but somehow, in the process, their power was knocked out. In writing me about it, she made the statement that the water does them no good without the power (because it takes power to warm up the water). This set me to thinking in two similar directions at once.

The first direction is this: There are millions of people who have only been baptized in water using the Matthew 28:19 verse as a formula. What they fail to understand is that the power of baptism is in the name, not the titles! Acts says that the name of Jesus is necessary for salvation (Acts 4:12).

When it is pointed out to them that every time, in scripture, when someone was baptized, it was always done in the name of Jesus, they argue one of two things. The first is that Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are names. Really? Consider this:

What is the name of the son? Jesus, right? So why don't they at least baptize saying, in the name of the Father , and of Jesus, and of the Holy Ghost? Since they acknowledge the name of the son, shouldn't they at least use his name in the Matthew 28:19 formula?

What's the name of the Father? They generally can't answer this. They might say Jehovah or Yahweh. Some just say Father. What does scripture say? Isaiah 9:6 says that the name of the Christ child would be called, get this, "the everlasting Father". So the Father's NAME IS JESUS.

Now, since we know that the name of the father, and of the son is Jesus, what is the name of the Holy Ghost? Jesus calls the Holy Ghost, "the comforter" in John 14:16. In promising they will receive this comforter, he told the disciples that, "I will not leave you comfortless, I WILL COME TO YOU" (John 14:18). Further more, Isaiah 9:6 says that the name of the Christ child would be called, "Wonderful Counselor". A counselor is one who Comforts. Remind me again who the comforter is? Oh yeah. The Holy Ghost! So the name of the Holy Ghost IS Jesus!

Therefore, THE NAME of the Father, the Son, and The Holy Ghost IS JESUS! Since there is no other name under heaven that saves us, and Baptism is part of salvation (Mark 16:16), then everyone aught to be baptized in water in the name of Jesus! Otherwise?

The water does no good without the power!

Thought number two:

There are many who believe baptism in water to be necessary, but believe the baptism of the Holy Ghost, with the evidence of speaking in tongues to be a thing of the past.

Jesus told the disciples that they would be endued with POWER from on high and that then, then they would be witnesses. The world really wasn't paying them any mind, until the day of Pentecost. When that day came, the Holy Ghost fell on ALL 120 in the upper room and they ALL spoke in tongues.

Baptism in Jesus name washes away our sins from that point backwards (if we've truly repented- otherwise, there's still no power in the water). However, we need more than that. Jesus said we have to be born of water (baptism in Jesus name) AND born of the Spirit (Baptism of the Holy Ghost). You can find this in John 3:3-8.

The Holy Ghost is the Earnest (down payment) of our heavenly inheritance (Ephesians 1:14). The Holy Ghost also gives us the POWER we need to live as he wishes us to, and be a living witness to our savior- the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. If fact, "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, IF SO BE that the spirit of God dwelleth in you. Now, if any man have not the spirit of Christ (proving that the spirit of God and the spirit of Christ are the exact same spirit- one God, not three), he is none of his." (Romans 8:9)

The message is simple here as well. If we stop with being baptized in Jesus name, but are not filled with the power (the baptism of the Holy Ghost), then, once again, the water does no good without the power!

The water, through the blood (Collossians 2), cleanses us of our past sins. The Holy Ghost fire purifies us more!

The water sets us free from the past, the Holy Ghost empowers us for the future!

So yes, my dear cousin, you spoke very true words.

The water does no good without the power!

The Nest, part 2

2010-05-18T18:08:00.005-04:00

"And we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God, to them who are the called according to HIS (emphasis mine) purpose." -Romans 8:28

"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." - Psalms 126:5

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a little Robin's seemingly futile attempts at building a nest. Given the location (the window sill above our front door), the very small frame it was attempting to build on, and the wind that seemed to blow the nest apart, it seemed a lost cause. However, today I must report to you that "Mildred" (my wife's name for the mother robin) was not only successful in her attempts, but she now has a small brood of baby robins to care for.

This got me to thinking, again. Life is not easy. Our lives seem to be filled with troubles that follow us from the cradle to the grave. Yet, the prosperity preachers continually shout how wonderful and blessed our God wants our lives to be. The usually unspoken flip side of this false doctrine is that if a person is struggling, then somehow they had a lack of faith- or didn't have enough faith with which to hold onto their miracle.

Mildred kept working at her appointed, and impossible, task in spite of her circumstances. She dealt with the wind. She avoided the predators. She stayed watchful and vigilant as she worked. Finally, the nest was done and she began the even more consuming task of caring for the eggs. After the chicks were born (can you call a baby robin a chick? I don't know.), she set out to find food and keep herself and the little ones both fed and safe from harm.

I believe that we humans tend to constantly look for easy street. We are continually trying to avoid the hard things in life. Worse, we've twisted our theology so badly that we- contrary to 1 Timothy 6:5 - suppose that gain IS godliness. When we find ourselves struggling we somehow believe, much like the disciples in the storm while Jesus slept, that God has abandoned us. Not so.

Every test and trial that we go through will be turned for our good IF:

a) we continue our love for the Lord, and

b) we walk in our calling, or if you'd prefer another term, his purpose for our lives.

When we find ourselves struggling in the storms of life, we need to keep loving Jesus. When everything in our lives that we try to do - like Mildred's nest- is continually falling apart in the winds of life, we need to keep loving Jesus AND keep trying to accomplish that which God has given us to do.

If we will - again, just like Mildred- we will see the dream take shape and life spring forth from a hopeless situation! We cannot give up and stop trying. No matter how bad the situation, God WILL make it work for good in both our lives, and his kingdom. How many people that point a finger at our lives and watch us struggle, may become that new born saint? How, you ask? As a result of them witnessing the Red sea parting in our lives. How many of our children will remember that we never gave up on God in our struggles and find the strength to keep living for God in theirs.

No. The struggle isn't easy, but it will be worth it- no matter the situation- to see others enter the kingdom through the "word of (our) testimony." Life's hard, but God specializes in making something beautiful out of our messes, if we let him. If you're struggling today, hold on to Jesus and keep working at your mission. One day, it'll be worth itl. God is truly good- and he makes our circumstances work out for good- all the time. And all the time, God is good.

Truth and Love

2010-05-09T21:10:00.000-04:00

We seem to live in a society that rejects absolutes. As I once heard Br Arnold say, "Black is white and white is black, and whatever's gray, have a happy day"!
Our whole society screams "LOVE ME", while at the same time, trying very hard to cover up who we are.
We don't like our looks? Let's have plastic surgery to change them. We don't like our relationships? Instead of making the hard choices and looking at ourselves to see what part of the problem we play, we ditch the relationship to find a "better" one. We get hurt by people in our relationships and we decide to either have no more relationships, or to stop having normal relationships and seek relationships in ungodly ways (Homosexuality, lesbianism, adultery, bisexuality, Transvestitism, etc).
When it is pointed out, truthfully, that these ways of living, are wrong, we scream, "Don't judge me", or "I thought you loved me- How can you speak to me that way?"

The truth is that God's love requires a truthful answer. God loved us so much that he robed himself in flesh to die for our sins. He loves us for who we are (though he hates the sin that inhabits us), but he also loves us too much to allow us to stay that way! He does, however, love us so much that he gives us a choice- our sinful ways of doing things, or his better way. One path leads to hell. The other to eternity with him.

How does that play out with us on a daily basis? When in a conversation with someone and we hear them saying things that are wrong, do we let it fly on by and say nothing? Or do we speak the truth IN LOVE?

Truth is just that- truth. There is no changing it. It is written in stone- never changing. Truth is absolute and truth is not an emotion. Truth, absolute truth, is probably sitting on most peoples coffee table or book shelves. It's called "The Holy Bible". It is the ultimate truth. It is God's word to us. It is his instruction manual for life, love, and everything else. Incidentally, where science "fact" and the Bible disagree, science hasn't caught up to God yet- believe the Bible every time.

When someone says something to you that's wrong, prayerfully give them a loving AND biblical answer. Say it gently, but speak the truth! Jesus does! Aren't we supposed to be like him?

The nest

2010-04-21T10:49:00.003-04:00

"Set your affection on things above, not on the things on the earth." Col 3:2

We have a rather interesting drama going on here at our home. No, we're not having a major family problem or anything. Let me explain.

Attached to our home is a covered deck. There is also lattice attached to the side area of the deck near the door. As such, our front door area is somewhat protected from the elements. The door is surrounded by glass panes. The top panes have 2 x 2's surrounding them. It's an older home, but the front door area is nice and inviting.

Especially to a certain bird. You see, for the better part of a week now. A bird- a robin, I think- has been steadily trying to build a nest onto one of the wooden lips where the glass is around the upper right side of the front door. Here's the problem.

You see, the lip is far to small to provide a quality base for the nest to sit on. The parts of the nest that aren't firmly on the window sill are constantly falling off due to simple gravity. Then there's the wind that blows through the lattice (about two feet away from the nest). The parts of the nest not taken down by gravity, are systematically scattered around by the wind. Yet, the bird continues its futile efforts to build a nest for it's family. What it really needs to do is change the surroundings and find a better foundation to build it's nest on.

How like that Robin most of us are! We get so caught up in the temporary. We like the looks of something and, usually with very little forethought, we go running after it- never once considering the possible future ramifications to ourselves and our loved ones. We chase the better job, the better car, and the better house. We pursue the corporate ladder, the higher educational degree, the more prestigious neighborhoods and churches.

Then, like that Robin, we find ourselves in a seemingly never ending battle to pick up the pieces of our lives. All the while wondering why God allowed us to go through all that. Meanwhile, God, just like me watching the bird's struggles, wonders when we're going to quit throwing effort after foolishness. His desire is for us to have our lives built on the firm foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

That's not to say that life is easy or even prosperous when we are living for Jesus. However, we have the priceless gift of knowing that we're not alone. We have his spirit to lead, guide, and comfort us throughout our lives. Then, we also have the gift of avoiding some of the life winds and great falls that we otherwise would have if we chose to go our own way!

No, God doesn't promise us great riches and glory. However, he does promise to never leave us nor forsake us. He does promise to guide us. And he does tell us that, if we will but endure unto the end, he will one day take us to be with him forever- where there will be no more pain, no more tears, and no more suffering. What a day that will be!

What is that CEO position, when compared to the streets of Gold? What is that PH.D., when compared to eternity with Jesus? What is that big home on the golf course, when compared to walking the streets of God's city- hand in hand with the family he gave us and helped us to guide them in his ways? What is the praise of this world, when compared to hearing our Savior say, "Well done my good and faithful servant- enter ye in..."?

Where are we building our kingdoms today? Where is the foundation of our lives today? Is it on the temporary things of this world? Or are our feet set firmly on the rock of our salvation?
Just something for all of us to think- and pray- about.

What exactly did Noah find?

2010-04-14T14:19:00.003-04:00

"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." Genesis 6:8

The word for Grace here, in the Hebrew, is the word, "chen" (pronounced khane) and it means, "graciousness, i.e. subj. (kindness, favor), or objective (beauty)" It comes from the Hebrew word "chanan" (pronounced khaw-nan), which means "to bend or stoop in kindness to an inferior; to favor, bestow; causative to implore (move to favor by petition)."

This is the first appearance of the word Grace in the whole of Divine scripture. With one exception (Ezra 9:8- where the Hebrew word is techinnah and means "graciousness, caus. entreaty") this is the same word for the English word, Grace, that is used every single time in the Old Testament.

What exactly was it that Noah found here? How did he find it? The situation around this verse, as well as the word meanings, holds our answers.

Genesis 6 begins with a detailed explanation of just how far mankind had fallen since our ouster from the Garden of Eden. In only some 1600 years or so, mankind had become so reprobate in our thinking that God says that "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (verse 5). God became so fed up with this, as well as the many other sins listed here (that I won't get into right now), that he decided to destroy everything and everybody and basically start over again. He would surely have done just that, were it not for one man: Noah.

The scripture states, unequivocally, that Noah and Noah alone found Grace in the eyes of God. It has been presented to me for many years, as an explanation for this, that God was making plans to destroy everything, when he just happened to come across one righteous man and decided to make an exception of his family due to what he saw. I believe this to be only partially true.

I believe that, in the definitions listed above, lies our answers. It states that Grace is not only
'kindness and favor", but that at it's core, it is that God was "moved to favor by petition". It is my belief that Noah was not only a righteous man in a very ungodly generation, but that he was moved to prayer by the evil that he saw around him. I believe that he constantly was in a state of supplications for God to intervene in the lives of those around him. I believe that he looked around him and prayed, as many of us do today, "Lord, this is terrible, you've got to do something about all this!"

Scripturally, the vast majority of the time, whenever someone was allowed to hear a personal message from God, it was because they had already spent time in prayer talking to and listening to their creator. I believe that it was in one of those times that the Lord spoke to Noah with the answer to the many petitions he'd been making! "OK, Noah", the Lord said interrupting Noah's prayer time, "you've been asking me to do something about all these evils, here's my plan".

To everyone that has prayed and prayed for their loved ones, to all that have begged a righteous God to intervene in an increasingly vile and evil world, don't give up hope I give you Noah!

Noah began to build the ark, using God's blueprints. For 100 years Noah (called a preacher of righteousness in the New Testament) cut lumber, sanded it, nailed it all together, pitched it (to water proof it), and preached that if the people would only join them and get in the boat (when the time came), they'd be saved from the judgement to come. 100 years of sweat and toil. 100 years of hard and frustrating labor. 100 years of enduring everything from mockings to angry unrest. 100 years of standing alone for God's truth. 100 years of continued prayer and wondering if he'd misheard God or if it was all worth the effort. Was it?

Noah's prayers found favor with God and Noah's prayers caused God to give him the plans for anyone to escape the flood. Grace is NEVER unearned and Grace is never accidentally found.
The New Testament says that God is a rewarder of them that "diligently seek him". Jesus said that the straight and narrow way to avoid the coming judgement, at the end of this age, will have "few...that FIND it". In other words, a person must be looking for it, in order to find it!

Our enemy would have us to believe that it's not worth the trouble. Our enemy would try and persuade us to give up the fight and stop praying. our enemy would tell us that we've misunderstood the Lord and are being foolish. After all, who else out ther stands for what we do? In the world, ours is a very small voice. Surely the majority must be correct, right?

The majority in Noah's day were not only wrong, but dead wrong. Of all the millions of souls alive at the time, only EIGHT escaped on the ark. As God's judgement fell and the mocks turned to terrified cries, Noah and his family were safely rising above it all on the ark that came from God's blueprint and provision of materials, and Noah and his families hard work faith and obedience! Millions died, but I can Garuntee that Noah thought the hard work and confusion had been worth it all!

Confusion? What do you mean? There is not one biblical record of God speaking to Noah between the time he gave him the blueprints and 100 years later when Noah was told to get on the ark with the animals that God sent. That could cause some frustration and confusion, when you're facing the upset people Noah had to face. But, when you've truly heard the voice of God tell you to do something, not a voice on this earth can sway you from that path, if you've a made up mind and a God fearing heart.

Can one person make a difference? Noahs family was saved, due to his commitment. The hundreds of animals on board (except those that were eaten to sustain Noah's family) were spared, due to Noah's dilligence. The whole climate of the earth itself was changed due to Noah's obedience to God's plan's. Mankind recieved a fresh start, due to Noah's love of God, family, and others. Can one person make a difference? Oh Yes!

Just as in Noah's time, it takes obedience and faith on our part to make it. When we willingly yoke (bind) ourselves to Jesus and willingly let him lead us- doing what he asks us to do along the way (with his help), we'll make it, and escape judgement. If we do not, we will be judged, just as surely as the millions who died in the flood! God didn't build the ark for Noah. He gave him the plans and told Noah what to do.

Then, as now, Grace is still a partnership with almighty God. I beg all to willingly enter into this divine partnership (Acts 2:38, John 3:3-5) with Jesus! If we will follow his plan, though we are mocked by the world, though it goes against the modern grain, though we are persecuted and killed, we will escape the coming judgement. As the old song says, "It's gonna be worth it all one glorious, happy day. It's gonna be worth every long mile, every heartache and every trial. It's gonna be worth it all, one beautiful, happy day!"

The Exchange and the Partnership

2010-03-31T14:45:00.003-04:00

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your weary souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Matthew 11: 28-30

When most of us have read this passage, or heard this passage, we've mostly understood it to speak of an exchange. We bring our burdens to Jesus, he takes them and frees us from them. Then we go on our merry way, leaving all those heavy burdens with him. But, is that really what this passage teaches? Let's have a closer look.
The passage begins with Jesus saying "Come unto me...". He didn't say "Come to my religion", or, "Come to this philosophy". He calls us to enter into a relationship with himself!
Who is he calling? Everybody? No. Though he does want everyone to be in relationship with him, he only calls the heavy laden. What does that mean? In the Greek it means "loaded up and overburdened". Why does he only call these folks?
Humans are basically proud. As long as everything is going smooth for us, we think that we are just fine and in NO need of help. This is why God allows troubles and trials in our lives. When things begin to pile up and life seems to be more than we can handle- when we just don't think we can take another step- that's when Jesus tells us to come to him! It's at this point that he understands that we know that we are not as big and bad as we think we are. During the hard times, we know that we MUST have outside help, if we are going to be able to make it to the other side of the valley that we're in. At this time, we are humbled enough to ask for and accept the help that we need.
So what happens when we come to him? First of all, we humans are sinful creatures. Sin has a way of piling up on us like barnacles onto a ship. Left unchecked, these barnacles will slow us down, effect our navigation, and eventually, destroy our ship- causing us to sink and die. However, he made a way, through his death, burial, and resurrection, to remove these barnacles from our lives. When we are obedient to the Gospel message (Acts 2:38), an awesome exchange happens! Jesus was made "sin for us..., that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."(2 Cor 5:21).
What an awesome event! Our whole past is washed and made new to the glory of God! Our sins are washed away in his blood and our spirits are made new! He has given us a new nature. Instead of the old sinful one, if we will walk in his spirit, we will then be able to make heaven our home.
It is here that the Matthew scripture picks back up. Jesus takes his analogy a little further. He tells us to take his yoke upon us. What is a yoke? In those days, the oxen or beast of burden they were using were grouped together in yokes of twos. A yoke was the device that was used to strap the two animals side by side and make them work together. It actually made it easier for their master to keep them headed in the right direction, as well as making it easier for the individual animals involved to pull the load. This analogy actually began when Jesus told "all that are heavy laden" to come to him. If the burden becomes too heavy for one animal to carry, it will either stop moving or fall under the weight.
Jesus is telling us that we need help. In order to make it safely through and accomplish what he has given us to accomplish (take his YOKE upon US), we need help. He is telling us that, though he may have given us a lot of work to do, if we will but allow him to place a yoke on us, HE will help us. Who are we working with, who are we plowing with? JESUS!
When I was in the Army, I was an enlisted soldier. By military statute, I had to obey the orders of all officers. It didn't take me long to discover that there were two types of officers. One type used his authority to order those under his command to GO and DO whatever the task was. Either he, or his representative, would be back to check on your work at a later time. These were the officers that you did only what you had to do out of respect for his rank. You didn't have much use for the man behind the rank, but you obeyed the rank.
The other type were the ones that used their authority to say, "Let's Go do..." whatever the task was. These officers understood that they commanded men that needed to be respected. They understood that when they showed respect to their men, not only did the task get done, it was done well- many times above what was actually needed. They didn't think themselves better than their men. They thought it a privilege to lead these fine men and cared for the welfare of each and every one of them. These officers could give nearly impossible orders and knew that their men would put their lives on the line in order to try and accomplish the goal!
Jesus, the king and creator of the universe, became a man and describes himself as "meek and lowly of heart". Think about it. Our creator doesn't think himself better than we are! Our creator made a way for us! Our creator BECAME SIN FOR US, so that we can BECOME HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS! It's the becoming part that he refers to, when he says for us to "take (his) yoke upon" us. Here, take this yoke and let me help you to become my righteousness in a very unrighteous world.
Jesus is saying, "I realize that I've given you a big job to do. I'm asking a lot of you. But, I've taken care of the barrier that was between us (sin), and If you will enter into relationship with me- attach yourself to me- I'll help you pull the load that I've given you to pull! I'll help you become what I plan for you to become. Just attach yourself to me, and stay attached to me, and I'll see you through to glory!"
Jesus is calling us to relationship (Acts2:38) and Partnership! What a great idea! I, for one, say YES! What will you say?

On this blessed day!

2010-02-23T09:32:00.003-05:00

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled." Matthew 5:6

"Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the Lord." Proverbs 18:22

It was 12 years and 8 days ago in the afternoon, on a lonely Sunday drive home, when my life began to change- though I didn't know it at the time. I had walked away from God for a time (out of anger at him), and had only recently came back to him and "prayed back through" (as we Pentecostals call it). I had gone to visit a dear friend of mine in south Georgia that weekend and was on my way back to my rented room in Lawrenceville.

My friend, David, has a beautiful family and as much as I enjoyed being with him, my heart yearned for a family of my own, especially a wife. I had been through a failed marriage of my own (the reason I walked away from God in the first place) and now found myself yearning for the love of a good woman (Yes, I mean LOVE- not lust).

My newly cleansed heart began to cry out to Jesus for what I desired and knew I needed. I drove with tears running down my face and one hand raised in the air- worshipping my God and petitioning him for my needs. As I prayed, I reminded him that he had said that "it is not good for man to be alone." Then I made the request that would change my life: "Lord, I need a wife, but I want this one to love you more than she loves me." Little did I know the glorious changes that would bring.

The very next day, at about 10 AM (forgive me, honey, if I get the hour wrong- I'm close), my boss walked up to me with a beautiful woman following him. He spoke to me and said, "Mike. This is Della. Would you mind training her?" My first thought was amazement that he would ask me to train anyone at all. I'd only been on the job for 10 days! My next thought came after seeing the trainee- she was beautiful! Sure, boss, I'll be happy to train her!

As we talked, I could see that she was as sweet as she was beautiful. The biggest thing that stuck out to me, however, was her love for God. She really loved him!

One week later, I worked up the courage to ask her out to dinner. To my joy, she accepted. As we walked out the door of the warehouse, heading to my car, I suddenly remembered- I hadn't cleaned my car out! I was a true bachelor. There were fast food bags and newspapers galore in the floor board of the passenger front seat! Would she see this and walk away? It was too late now. All I could do was pray, "Lord, Help me".

When I opened the door to let her in, I didn't see her face. I'm sure she was shocked, but she said nothing. To my delight, she got in. The poor woman's knees almost touched her chin, due to the floor board's garbage.

We went to Ryans and got the buffet. I have no idea what I ate, nor who else was around. All I could see was Della. She was even more charming outside of work than she was at work. We talked for a while and, too soon, the evening was over.

The following Saturday, she invited me over to her Dad's house and helped me clean my car. Apparently, she saw something in me more than my being a slob! I'm still not sure what.

A few weeks later, she asked me to accompany her to her mother's grave, who had passed away one year earlier. We went after work. It was a starry night, so it wasn't very hard to find the grave. As Della cried softly on my shoulder, the Lord spoke to me: "This is my gift to you and your responsibility. Take care of her." I began to cry with her.

On February 23, 1999, one year to the day after our first date- and one year and seven days since we first met and one year and eight days after I cried out to my God for a Godly wife- Della and I married! God is so good!

Della has followed me and the call of God on our lives ever since. We've lived in Ga, Tx, Ms, Ar, and now Pa. We've had times of plenty, and times of little. We've had times of laughter, and times of tears. But always, we've had God and each other. She prayed for me when I was week, backed me up when I was right, and spiritually spanked me when I was wrong. A better help mate could never be found!

So, on this day, my love, I want to tell the world how much I thank God for you! I also want to tell the world and you, that I truly love Della Mae Winskie- now and always. Thank you for tolerating me these 11 years! I still don't know who's training who! With love, from your husband, Mike