Silliness

Silliness is defined by Merriam-Webster as 1. a lack of good sense or judgment, 2. language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense, 3. a lack of seriousness often at an improper time.  At MFC silliness abounded.  Of course, being a Word of Faith church, one can readily see where this is going.  In a previous post I mention things like pulling invisible levers, people scrambling for a Pay Day candy bar and there was more as well.  For instance all the dancing, running, laughing, acting drunk, etc.  Does this draw people to God? No. Are people getting worked into an emotional frenzy? Yes. 

How on earth is a person supposed to bring a visitor to a church when you have no idea what kind of silliness will happen?  I Corinthians 14:26-40 is about order in worship.  Silliness, like I mentioned above, was not order.  Many times it was more like mass chaos and occasionally people got injured. 

All the while you did not see people coming to Christ. You did not see baptisms.  You did not see people going out and drawing people to Christ.  It was just weirdness.  Don't be weird.  No one wants to be like a weirdo. They want to know that Christ is here to fill that God shaped hole in our lives.    They want to know that God loves them, even though they have made some mistakes.  There should be order to our worship services.  Not for us, for those who we are trying to introduce to our Lord and Savior.

All that to say this,  have good judgement in the church you attend.  Are lives being impacted eternally?  Are people coming to Christ?  Are people moving forward in their relationship with Christ?

A Good Example of What Not to Do

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSJt-LHMNRY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Okay so look at this from the objective outsider. 1. If you were visiting, would you ever go back? 2. Does this make christians look good? 3. If you spend all this time publicly tearing people down does finishing it with I love you make it okay?

This is abusive use of the pulpit. He says he is important which shows his ego. But God should be lifted up not this guy. John  3:30 has John the Baptist telling his disciples that Christ must become greater and he must decrease. Verse 31 expands on this by saying that Christ is from heaven and is above all, but those from earth speak as one from earth. We are not the important ones, we are earthen vessels. God is the important one.

This is not making anyone walk away from the sermon having grown in their walk with Christ. On the contrary, I bet a lot of folks felt pretty low afterward. If you have a problem with a congregant you should take it to them in private. But airing grievances from the pulpit like this is not biblically sound. In Matthew 18:15-20 Jesus tells us how to deal with sin in the church. Go point out there fault just between the two of you, then if they won't listen get a witness, then if they won't listen take it to the church. Hunting people down from the pulpit is just abusive.

Watching this video made my breath get very shallow, as it reminded me so much of MFC.

Philemon

Something I have always wondered is why on earth is Philemon in the Bible? I mean, the book is tiny and it is to a guy named Philemon not a church.  and it seems to be about a runaway slave.  What is the deal here? And how do you pronounce it?  fie-LEE-mon, FIE-lee-mon, FIL-leh-mon

Well I don't know that I will ever know the pronunciation. But I may be starting to see what it is all about.  Onesimus was a slave that seems to have run away.  Now that is a guess on my part because he was a slave and was separated from his owner and Paul is writing to get Philemon to take him back as a brother, but Paul only says they are separated. Somehow they ended up meeting.  Most likely since Paul was in jail in Rome, Onesimus ended up there as well. In jail, Onesimus was led to Christ by Paul. So Paul is trying to help him make things right by going back to his master.  Paul is in effect being a mediator between this slave and his owner.  Much like Christ has mediated for us to the Father.  In verse 18 Paul saying "If he has wronged you or owes you anything... charge it to me." Sounds like the savior standing in place of us before the throne of God.  Don't just take these people as a slave anymore, take them as something better. A picture of how we can live like Christ.

Now here is a second layer to that onion.  Onesimus is going back to his owner.  So he is having to ask for forgiveness and that is never an easy thing to do.  It would have been easier to stay away.  We as Christians need to do the same thing.  When we wrong someone, we should ask for forgiveness because it is the right thing to do.  We don't ever find out how things turned out.  Did Philemon accept him back as Paul asked or did he punish Onesimus? What does it matter? Onesimus did the right thing regardless of how it turned out.

Philemon 1:8-21

Citizens

I met a man inSavannah the other day and he had me check out this video on youtube by a group called Citizens, the song is an old hymn, "In Tenderness". This band is a worship band at a Seattle based church called Mars Hill.

Hope you enjoy it.

Joining a Church

Why do you need to "join" a church? I mean is there a spiritual reason behind joining?  Or is it so the pastor can puff up their feathers and say that their church has x number of members?

Don't take this to mean, "Do I need to go to church?"  Because I do believe in "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together" (Hebrews 10:24-25 KJV).  We should meet together and spur each other to good works as that same passage says.  Furthermore, Proverbs 27:17 (NIV) tells us that iron sharpens iron and one person sharpens another.  So we NEED that fellowship with other believers. But do we NEED to be a member of a church?

This is how I see it, we are called to be one body of believers.  And a lot of times different churches feel that they are better than others.  I believe that "membership" in a church can help spur this on.  Furthermore, you may primarily go to one place of worship, but what about when you are out of town on a Sunday?  What then?  Are we left to the wind?  Are we violating our "membership" by attending another congregation?  What about another church's bible studies?  Can we attend them or would that offend our "members"?  A church is not some exclusive club with members but rather a part of the body of Christ. 

Concerned about Budgets

When you are working on your budget, it is easy to get yourself worked up. Seems like no matter how much or how little you make, a little bit more would be helpful.  Then God reminds you:

Matthew 6:25-34 NLT

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Secret Santa

Matthew 6:1-4 NLT

“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

At MFC they would push you hard on giving. So topics of giving can be a sore spot with me. Not to say I don't give. I just don't like hearing a sermon on it. This passage though would be the exception that proves the rule. Don't make a fuss over what you gave or how much. God and you are all that needs to know.

Think About It Overnight

Psalm 4:4-5 NLT

Don’t sin by letting anger control you.
Think about it overnight and remain silent.
Interlude Offer sacrifices in the right spirit,
and trust the LORD.

Sometimes we all need a reminder of the basics.

The Ax is at the Root

So in the 1 year bible I read today matthew 3 and saw this:

Matthew 3:7-10 NIV

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

And Genesis 6:

Genesis 6:5-8 NIV

The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, "I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them." But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

How many times have we caused the LORD so much grief. For we have all been sinners. We have all had that time where we were evil.  And our society seems to be running from God as fast as possible.  I see 2 distinct things here. One was the large group that has turned away from God and will recieve God's wrath, but the other is God's remnant. Those who turn to God are spared.

Hopefully, God is not ready to turn away from America for our wickedness. The best that we can do is to keep our house in order like Noah, like Joshua and Caleb, like Daniel. Here in America we have a unique opportunity, historically speaking, to vote for our leaders. As a Christian we should go vote. If we do nothing, we let those who would destroy America through their wickedness win. I won't say who to vote for because that is between you and God. Just go vote. Don't stop praying, seek after God and God will spare you. Life will be very different after that day of God's judgement comes. And that doesn't mean there won't be hard times ahead.  Look at how Joshua and Caleb still had to wander the desert with the others. Daniel slept with the lions. Noah had his world totally changed. But God spared them. The signs of economic collapse are there, good people will hurt along with bad people.  Thank God that with His help that doesn't mean total destruction for us.

Leaving Los Eden

I saw today that God posted cherubim to block the entrance to Eden and a flaming sword to guard the way to the Tree of Life.

Genesis 3:22-24 NLT

Then the LORD God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” So the LORD God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. After sending them out, the LORD God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

To the East? I always had it in my mind that they went west out of Eden towards Israel. I don't know why I thought that, just figuring on the locale of the rest of the Bible I guess.  I know that is nothing deep or spiritual just correcting the historical portion in my minds eye.

Also as a side note does the flaming sword that flashes back and forth make anyone else think of a neon sign flashing?
Eat at Joe's. Joe's not here, go away.

Also while are on the subject of Eden, they had it so good there.  When they sinned and got evicted, things seemed to go downhill pretty quick for them.  Not only did they have the curse that was placed on all mankind, Their eldest killed his younger brother. Who then gets banished and cursed even more.
It isn't like he was going off to college or just another town. There weren't a whole lot of people. I guess the moral of that story is that sin takes you in a direction that you did not want to go, further than you intended to go.

New Year, New Thoughts

So these last couple months I have been in a funk. Partially because of being sick and partially because of the holiday busy-ness.  But it is a new year now and I plan on starting to take things in a bit of a new direction. I want to start posting basically what I find as I am reading my Bible and praying each day. Some days may have some length but most days will probably be short posts.

So today I was reading Matthew 2, and it struck me that Herod was scared by the wise men showing up in Jerusalem. Why?

Matthew 2:1-10 NLT

Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”
King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem. He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, “Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?”
“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they said, “for this is what the prophet wrote:
‘And you, O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
are not least among the ruling cities of Judah,
for a ruler will come from you
who will be the shepherd for my people Israel.’” Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!”
After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!

First off is the obvious reason of "the Messiah was born". But I was wondering if there was more to it. The wise men were magi according to the Greek.  Yes the magi that we get the word magic from. We are talking magicians, sorcerers, and witch doctor types. Coming from far away to worship the newborn king of the Jews. I can see that ruffling some feathers.  Side note here how cool is it that God was attracting the lost even at his birth. They were also astrologers. Following a star... That appeared when Jesus was born, and it moved and led these guys to Israel. What was this star? A real star or planet or comet? Or something of a supernatural origin like an angel? Could Herod see this star? Why didn't he follow it to Jesus? Was it something that only the magi saw? No way to answer that with the info we have from the Bible. But just a thought.

James 3

So I have just finished reading James 3.  Been a long time since I have ventured to this chapter because it was such a staple at MFC.  All of the focus was on the unbridled tongue. Watch what you say. Get your confessions perfect.  Well get past all of that and read the very next section about wisdom.

James 3: 13-18 NIV

13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

 17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

That is the section that should have been read at the church.  Instead of always chasing after the next big thing,  become the peacemakers who sow in peace.  I know I sure have needed this scripture in times past.  Glad I found it. I will do my best to start putting this into practice at work.

Stigma

I feel like I will be living with the stigma of growing up in a Word of Faith Prosperity church for the rest of my life. So I take every chance I can to condemn it. It is vile and ugly and a total perversion of how God wants a Christian to live their life. It is all about them and not about our saviour Jesus Christ. Thinking back on things, I remember Jesus mainly being mentioned in the praise and worship music at the beginning of the service. After that, it was Spirit, Faith, Impartations, Pastor, and Money. And I know that he was referring to the Holy Spirit but the pastor always seemed to make things so spooky and vague. The faith part seems like voodoo to me now. The impartations seems like demon possession, and the pastor loved himself and money. All-in-all it was all just plain wrong.

Practically everyday, I am still thanking God I am away from there. Recently I had the pleasure of hearing Greg Surratt the Senior Pastor of Seacoast Church in Charleston, SC. He said something in his sermon that I can not put any more eloquently so I will quote him. "The only person getting rich in a prosperity church is the one preaching prosperity." Hey look at that, I am different from my former pastor; he would have just ripped that quote off and not had any guilt over it.

Missing the Point

I feel like I have missed the point in sharing my faith with others. Because what was it that I shared about? MY FAITH. When in fact, it has very little to do with me. It is all about, "Jesus loves us." I am going to break that sentence down into basic components. First things first, Jesus is God. The entire Bible points to this fact. Next is love, and well God is love (1 John 4:8). So there is two-thirds of the sentence about God. Finally we come to us in the sentence. According to the U.S. Census Bureau there are an estimated 6.77 billion people on earth right now. And let's not forget all of our ancestors. Jesus died for all of our sins. Makes my portion of that sentence pretty small. Why would I share about my own faith and how I have done things, when I am a mere speck, a mist, a vapour. It isn't about me and the things I have stood in faith for or the things I have accomplished. This is about my savior. I should be screaming from the roof tops what He has done for us!

But unfortunately this is what I was taught at my church growing up. And this is an incredibly dangerous thing. Children were taught that the most important thing in their Christian walk is what they can get God to do for them. Children were taught that the most important thing is faith... they begin to have faith in faith, not God.

Do not allow your child to grow up in a church like this. A church like this will pollute you as an adult... think about how it pollutes the still forming mind of a child.

The Enormity of God

Have you ever stopped to think about just how big God is? The creator of the universe. He spoke and created all of the animals and plants. He spoke and created light. He spoke and separated the land from the water.

He set into motion all of the natural laws... Gravity, friction, aerodynamics, erosion, and so on.

He created time.

And yet he formed man. Breathed life into him. Fellowshipped with this man. And when this man messed things up, God began to work to restore man to a place of fellowship with Him. You get that? YAHWEH wants to spend time with us.

He cares for us more than we can know. He made the Grand Canyon but He loves us. He made the sea shore but he wants to be with us. The Alps are beautiful but we are his favorite creation. The stars may help to light up our night, but when God spends time with us it excites Him.

This relationship with God should never be cheapened to an act. All of the philanthropy in the world can't take the place of spending time with God. He loves US. He doesn't love what we do for Him. He already gave of Himself to save us. Just because we don't give some money in this service or because we didn't volunteer for yet another area to work in the church, does not mean that God won't bless us. I have a 2 year old daughter. Do you think for a moment that I would not think of some way that I could totally make her day just because she didn't clean up all of her crayons. How much more is God going to be thinking about how to take care of us. The God of the universe loves me and he doesn't care about the three crayons I didn't pick up behind the easel.

God-Given Talent to Gossip?

So I have been outside of my cult church for nearly 1 year now. And how awesome these past 11 months have been. I still find myself amazed at what I find and see. Case in point:

Since I have been away from MFC, I have not heard one single minister smear a congregant. I have heard ministers talk about how they have themselves have done things to embarrass themselves. But never, talking about someone sitting in the pews. At My Former Church, this happened on numerous occasions. One such occasion has always stuck with me, because of how vile of an attack the pastor gave. The pastor began to berate and belittle an individual who had just passed away. This was all from the pulpit. To make it more shocking, it was a staff member of the church, who was well liked. If he didn't like the person, he should have fired them long ago. But that wasn't it at all. They were an asset to him alive, but dead they were a liability. When a person dies of cancer in a church that the pastor "declares" a "cancer free" church, well it hurts his credibility.

This so-called pastor did not and, sadly, does not love and respect those around him. Rather, he uses people and when they are not convenient, he rolls them under the bus. This is not a sign of a true pastor. That man is a bully not a pastor. If a pastor begins to show this kind of sign, leave. Never look back, just leave. A pastor should never talk down to or bad about the people that sit in the congregation, especially from the pulpit.

I have an earlier post called "More Questions" where I reference the pastor stopping a service to talk down to some youth. This sort of behavior does not build up the congregation. It does, however, put fear into them. It begins to make people scared of what they have said to the pastor in counselling sessions or to go to the pastor for counsel. Nothing is sacred when a minister wants to humiliate you from the pulpit.

Right on the Money!

I recently found an article on pathclearer.com titled "Right on the Money!" By Tom Dooley Ph.D. It was a very insightful article about the erroneous teachings of the prosperity gospel. This article is not trying to say that God does not want to bless His children, but rather that this message has been taken to an extent that God never intended it to be taken to. God never told us we had to take a vow of poverty to follow Him, but he also didn't tell us that we would all be as rich as Solomon either.

The preachers who preach this message often work their best to live a very affluent lifestyle that will help to inspire others to give to them. People tend to look up to them because of the money that they throw around. The Bible warns about following after money, and Dooley gives several examples early in his article: Ecclesiastes 5:10-11, Luke 12:15 and Luke 6:20-21, 24-25, 30.


Dooley says...

When Jesus was living as a man on this planet, did He live like a wealthy king? Did the forerunner John-the-baptizer live like a wealthy king? Did any of the founding apostolic-prophetic leaders of the Church live like a wealthy king? Oh, please listen! Some well-intentioned Charismatics express at this time, "I’m a child of the King, so I’m going to live like a prince (or princess)!" It is hard to defend Biblically this concept of a "nice God who is our ‘buddy’ and onlyprospers us" that is percolating through much of contemporary theology.

As Dooley points out, Jesus was an itinerant prophet-teacher without a home of his own. There were occasions when women who travelled with him met his financial needs. But let's not forget about John-the-baptizer in all of this. According to Matthew 3:4 "John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey." Yeah, a real affluent guy there.

I have referred to the apostles in a previous post, they definitely did not live like kings. They had a compelling call to get the gospel out to the world, so they scattered and they all were tortured and beaten. Most of them were killed for the Gospel. How does being a sojourning martyr measure up to living like a prince?

Dooley mentions that there is wisdom in asking God to meet our needs. As a father, I couldn't help but to think of my toddler who doesn't really understand the difference between "need" and "want". She tells me that she NEEDS a cookie or to watch TV. Have we as Christians become so very immature that we do not understand the difference between our needs and wants anymore? Have we forgotten the Lord's prayer? Have we forgotten how God took care of the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years? If you think about the fact that they had riches as they left, remember the fact that they were slaves for hundreds of years, God just finally got them just compensation for their labor. Remember the early church took care of each other's needs. People sold land to cover the needs of others. This wasn't putting up your mortgage to be surety on a fancy multi-million dollar structure. This was covering the gospel being preached and basic human needs of people.

Dooley says...

I like to remind myself that the really valuable things in life are Faith, Family, and Friends. The Creator’s blessings of prosperity are not measured primarily by wealth, although wealth can be one of the components of His blessings. If we judge by our natural eyes coupled to our greedy minds, we can be easily deceived. Many in the West live under the illusion of blessing, simply because they happen to live in affluence. But, it is a veneer! "You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent." (Revelation 3:17-19). The church of Laodicea in Revelation chapter 3 epitomizes our current Western worldview that elevates affluence. We are to obtain spiritual "gold refined by fire", meaning that which is virtuous and of eternal value. We are to obtain spiritual "white clothing", meaning that which is pure, forgiven, and redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb. And, we are to apply spiritual "eye salve" so as to have the "eyes of our hearts" healed to correctly
see the truth rather than deception or the illusion of blessing. It is my observation that few living in the West have this insight at present. Therefore, Revelation 3 says we need to be earnest and to repent. Our priorities must change!

Dooley reminds us of how Christians in other countries across the world are suffering for Jesus Christ. People have lost everything and yet God is prospering them. How can a person be prosperous and in poverty? Dooley says, "Prosperity that comes from God should not be viewed mono-dimensionally as: prosperity = financial blessings. Let’s not be short sighted in understanding the breadth of the meaning of Biblical prosperity. "

I had to chuckle as I read, "What a shame if we’re following Him just because we want Jesus to hand us a microphone, or a large bank account, or an annual ministry budget in the millions, or a Rolls Royce car, or a mansion on the lake, or a book contract, or our own television station. " Because I can just see some Prosperity Gospel preacher saying these days "Do you need a spiritual bailout? Give me a seed offering and watch God give you that bailout of a hundred-fold." Anyone notice that with those preachers it always seems that the offering you give them will ALWAYS return one hundred-fold. They always go for the top number, because they hope to fool more people with a bigger blessing. Let me remind you that Paul turned down an offering from the Corinthians because he did not want to give any kind of appearance that he was peddling the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Dooley says...

It should be noted that the principles of return-on-investment for the seed-of-faith sown each have a legitimate Biblical basis. It can be supported by Scripture, but only as principles. However, they are not assured specific promises for a specific circumstance. Often the anticipated rewards are not realized by the "seed" donors. They think unwisely in advance, "I’ll give this seed to the man-of-God, and I expect to receive that reward from God." This can be a disheartening reality. It can produce disappointments, because it is built on a faulty foundation. Biblical principles are not guarantees of a particular outcome for an individual in a particular circumstance. They are general patterns, not specific assurances or insurance policies. This errant thinking can and does destroy hope, because the hope was in the wrong person, place, or thing.

Dooley reminds us that now is the time to act. We as Christians must stand up for "the Whole Counsel of the Lord". If we do not, then the secular public arena will. When the Senate investigates these ministries, it makes ALL Christians look bad. When their families expose themselves to undercover officers it makes ALL Christians look bad. We must take care of this ourselves. Nobody said it would be easy, and nobody said we can end this blight today. But we must pray that God would open the eyes of people who are in these churches. We must pray that God would turn the hearts of these "ministers". We must try to reach out in love to those trapped in these churches. We can make a difference one day at a time, one person at a time. Most people will not respond right away, but we must continue to pray for them. These churches are very cult-like in nature, so it takes time to break through the brainwashing. When you leave a church like this, be vocal about why you are leaving. Preach the errors from the rooftops. Do whatever you can to help others avoid the trap of following these so-called "men-of-God".

Dooley encourages us to search out effective and efficient ministries to give to. Just please stop feeding the beast of the prosperity preachers.

All quotes were used with the authors permission.  Tom Dooley also told me that this article is a chapter in his upcoming book "Half-Truths are Lies".

Good Counsel

So, I was reading Luke 24 and in particular the passage where Jesus met Cleopas and another believer on their way to Emmaus. I had always looked at that story before thinking "Ha ha, it is so funny that Jesus showed up and walked with them and talked with them and they didn't realize who he was for a long time. And once they realized who he was, POOF, he disappeared." That Jesus guy is a riot. Think about it. The walk was 7 miles. If they were walking at 4mph then they could have talked with him for nearly 2 hours without knowing it was Jesus.

Tonight I read that and, WOW! How awesome would that conversation have been. Here are these 2 guys that are obviously upset about how things they put their faith into didn't go the way they had expected. A fellow traveler meets up with them and asks what they are talking about. So they tell him. Then Jesus begins to go over all the scriptures that dealt with the Messiah starting with Moses.

Have you ever had someone to start counselling you about something that has you down? I have. When someone stops and talks to you, personally, about something that is bothering you. And they show you things in the scriptures (which you may or may not have already heard or known.), your heart just seems to burn. It can be the most uplifting of times. How wonderful it must have been to have had such an uplifting conversation about Jesus and his fulfillment of prophecy just days after his crucifixion, just to find out that it was Jesus resurrected that they were being uplifted by.

And on that note, how awesome is it to read God's Word and be uplifted by it?

Vision of Hope

The first of the year is a time that my former pastor always made a big deal about writing down "your vision". This is something that I did for years. But it is something that I always did wrong. Or at least now I see that I was doing it wrong. I was taught to write down all of my goals, be it a big fancy car, a nice house, or vacations to take. But you know what... those aren't the visions that were being referred to in Habakkuk. Habakkuk is another post altogether. This post is about how our goals should look. How should a Christian view their goals? Is it money? Is it power? Is it vacations? Is it something inward? If you think so, then my friend, you have it all wrong. Our vision should be outward. Our vision should be in helping others. Our vision should be for the lost. Our vision should be for the widow, the alien, and the fatherless. If you call yourself a Christian, then you can't go around hating others, no matter what they have done. Be it, they have entered this country illegally or killed your dog.

For a lot of people these are hopeless times. The economy is down, unemployment is up, the price of most things are up, and there is always the most depressing things on the news. But our hope is not in the economy, jobs, houses, or Barack Obama. Our hope is in Christ Jesus and the resurrection to life with God in heaven.

So my vision for this year is that, with God's help, my heart would soften to those in need.
My vision is that this year I would decrease and Christ increase in my life.

What's your vision?

Justice, Mercy, and Faithfulness

Matthew 23 is the chapter that contains the 7 woes. Verses 23&24 say:

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

The tenth was something I heard about at MFC all the time.  Tithes were by far the most important thing at that church. You ask me why do I say that?  Because it was what they harped on every week.  They may miss doing an alter call, but God forbid they should miss doing tithes and offering. 

Faithfulness was talked about at MFC, more specifically faithfulness to the pastor. But the pastor did not show faithfulness.  He turned his back on people in a heartbeat if they did not give him total submission.

Justice was something that didn't happen there.  In fact, the lack of justice exposed to many people, how rotten the foundation of that church was becoming.

They give mercy much lip service at MFC, but the reality is they don't actually offer mercy unless it is for the pastor and his family.  

Our faithfulness should be to God first and foremost. But I would not say that the church or the pastor of a given church would be second on that list.  Your pastor is not a stand-in for God. You should not allow a man to stand in that place, because he will disappoint you.  

Justice and Mercy may seem like polar opposites, but they are not.  Both of these must be carried out in love.  And both can and should happen together.  Justice involves someone else who has been wronged.  It is to show that they are the victim and every effort should be made to correct the situation as best as it can be. Mercy is for the person who has wronged and is used to help restore that person.  This is not to say there are no consequences, for there are. But mercy gives them a path to follow that can help to prevent a recurrence of destructive behavior.