God is not a Quiter!

There is a lot of writing, whining, and general grumbling about the idea that the Christian Right has a hidden agenda. The theory is that by being believers in the Rapture of the Church, the voting and progams that they endorse are two sided. On the one hand if they don't get their way in the land of the living, there is an escape from this present evil when things get to bad. So their not to be concerned with the way it goes, and there is no need to get involved.

I don't see in the past any place where God ever gave up on anyone. He could have easily ended mankind with Adam. You sinned and disobeyed me, bye your History. How about the flood, was it required for Noah to be spared? Why not just flood the whole thing, then you wouldn't have to listen to the idiots say, there was no Flood! A clean sweep, start all over!

The evidence in the Bible is that God has against all odds, and logic, been a benefactor to all mankind. Think Joseph, who God spared to save the whole world from starvation. Try Moses to save a nation from slavery and oppression. In all of the Prophet's there was warnings and instruction to spare nations. Look at Jonah, his message spared a whole nation, in spite of his own desires. God has always tried to save lives, or we wouldn't still be here.

The admonition to the Chuch was to occupy till He returns. Not to sit on the side, not to be idle or a carpet for others to walk on. We are neither all Conservatives or Liberals, we are God conscious. A peculiar type, after the spirit of Jesus, who's weapons are Love, Hope, Endurance, and Patience. That all men might escape Judgement, and receive Mercy as we have. So we will endeavor to occupy the positions that will benifit man and spread truth and goodwill, as the Lord enables us, with all His might.

Yes, we know that the Lord will not suffer us to the tribulation to come to the earth. Before you accuse us consider Noah. He was called a preacher of rightousness. In the hundred years that it took to build the Ark he preached and warned them of the flood yet to come, at that time it had not rained upon the earth. The people had a long time to consider what he said, and why this huge ark build on dry land! They drew the wrong conclusion, even the animals entering the Ark didn't persuade them.

I ask you, did God give up, or did He give them over to there own desires, as recorded as continual evil, and the whole earth full of violence? He couldn't do otherwise! Man has been given a free will, and God will not trespass what He has established. Yet we are still here, and are given this history to teach us. As has been said; Those who will not learn from history, are doomed to repeat it.

So knowing these things if it were possible we would drag you kicking and screaming into the body of Christ to spare you, but it is not possible. You are master of your own life, it is your gift from God. Whatever desisions you make for yourself will be honored by the Almighty, and he will abide by your own desires. You alone can determine your fate, now and forever.

I personally believe that God will not give up on man easily. I think there has to be a mighty move of the presence and power of God manifest in the earth. All the people of the earth will see it and have a final chance to know God. So when you see the people of the far reaches of the islands, and those who are primitive, and those who are outcast starting to enter, consider, it may be the time of the End.

Enough to Bless You, or Bug You?

My good friend and brother in Christ brought up an interesting problem. In many places it seems that to be a follower of Jesus is way to hard. You are expected to live up to a certain standard; of actions, of sharing your money, and of your time. Pray a certain amount, pay a certain amount, and be bus driver, janitor, usher, greeter, teacher, etc, etc.

It's called proving yourself, however these are man's standards not God's. "What have you done for the Lord lately", is the familiar theme of these men. In some cases it may be sincere, although in ignorance. Unfortunately there are others who use these arguments to control people, or to boost their own ego's. To these the praise of men, and honor among people is the motive, Jesus also dealt with these whom he referred to as Pharisee's. They are alive in our day as well.

Now to the Ignorant, it is no suprise to me that this is so vast a problem. We have in our day whole segments, that we call denominations, who have adapted the philosophy of the 15th century that the Lord is no longer interacting with His church, except through the written word. That the days of revelation are over, as far as personal requests you are to endure till the end, or pray "if it be your will". This is error; we are not Buddist, who wrap their requests in something sticky, and throw it in hope that it sticks, and their prayer is answered!

This view of God is wide spread, I can think of a dozen denominations with thousands of people and hundreds of Theological Institutions. Is it possible that all these are in Error; ABSOLUTELY. This is a gross underestimation of God's willingness and nature. If you were on a business trip, and you missed your wife, would you take out her picture and reminise about her, or would you pick up your cell phone and call her. Do we think God is not as smart as Nokia? Is God only the God of yesterday, and tomorrow, is he not the God of today?

The matter of healing is another area of misunderstanding. If our child was in need of a kidney or other organ, and we were a match for a replacement operation, all of us would volunteer. A almighty and loving God has all ready voluntered, as shown in Jesus. To say that he no longer heals is to say, he no longer shows Jesus. Jesus himself said, in my name, heal the sick. I tell you there are warehouses of body parts available in the Heavens, and available for the people of earth. Give him credit for being at least as smart as the Car Industry, in making spare parts!

There is a spokesman for God in the earth, his name is the Holy Spirit. He is the one who enlightens and instructs on the realities of the love and provision of God. The Councillor, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, and the Quickening Spirit, amoung other titles. He is God, and is fulilling the plan, purposes, and truths of God. The word and Spirit agree, that means without the working of the Spirit to reveal the word man cannot understand the meaning.

The present problem is that the leadership has not waited for God's work, but ran off ahead into progams of men that were before them, who did the same thing. Thus, be lead by the Spirit, has been changed into men following man. It is then taught to the people who are under them, who teach it to those under them, on and on.

I get a little carried away with all the misrepresentatiion in the world. I'll try to answer the question of why it seems hard to be a Christian. "What are the vessels of the Lord's RESPONSIBILTY"? Jesus was asked this in a question,"what is the Greatest Commandment"? He said: to love the Lord God with all your heart, with all your mind, and all your strengh; and to love your neighbor as yourself. This is the fulfilment of the Law, and the Prophets. That's all there is no more.

When a person comes to know the Lord in the way of the Spirit, the love, nature, and personality, of God is more to be desired than gold, and sweeter than honey, as the Psalmist has witnessed. Then the meetings of the body, and individual churchs, will be a true blessed place to go and to share each others burdens, and witness to the Lords goodness.

First the doctrines of an uninvolved and indifferent God will have to be exchanged for the truth. How can they say God is love, and will not heal, or he may have a higher purpose, it's all up to Him? His will is to heal, then to set on a higher purpose. You see how this thinking stops all growth and trust in God. Jesus healed all who came to him, he still does, that's where we come in as the Church. Such thinking is not very likely to produce the witnesses that God intended. Let's start getting it straight, and quit blameing God for our lack of knowledge.

Are You Holding Your Breath

The eve of election day Iraq, and it seems all the News is pointing to the outcome as an indication of how we fared in our own Election. Will the choice we make be the right one! At least in regards to the immediate future of our troops, and expenditures, and of those who have died for this cause.

Puting aside who we individually voted for, we are all in this together, for better or worse. It may be the fix of the situation ( at least temporarily ) that leads to an end, or it may be the bust that involves more disapointment for the future of there Nation and Ours.

I am not qualified to make a speculation on this, although I have read a lot of reports. The evidence is not at all conclusive, either Pro or Con. The opinions range from very good, to very bad. We all as mankind wish for an expedient resolution to the conflict.

This is significant, a whole nation, and people lives will be altered by this event. As a Christian I know that in the wisdom of God the event will not be a suprise, but that will not mean that it was either the way God wanted it, or that it will was his doing. Otherwise freewill is not freewill. Then God would be unjust in holding mankind accountable for his doing.

The workings of man in these matters will not circumvent or stop God's ultimate plan and purpose for Iraq. That is His advantage, and that He is eternal, who will live longer, us or Him? Seeing that the plan of God will be accomplished, either now or later, either by our accomplishments, helping or hindering, His ways are perfect and Righteous.

That doesn't mean that we have no work to do, it implies that unless we do what we know to do, the purposes of God will be given to a later generation, who will cooperate in doing his will. It boggeles the mind to think that God wants our help, and without us the church he will do nothing. In light of this we need do diligence and self examination to be sure we are in the right with God, and not find ourselves opposing Him.

Who Do You Think You Are

In the 1980's, while an evangelist living in california, I was on my way to oregon for a pastor's convention, the organization that ordained me. As I was driving, the Lord spoke to me saying; you are not who you think you are. Now by that time I was used to the Lord speaking to me. This time was different in that I recognized this in my mind, it was not my thought, but a clear thought in my mind that I was not the author of, I didn't hear it in my ear as a sound. For convention's sake I am addressing this to all as if you were all christian, the poles say I'll be right the majority of the time. Those who are otherwise persuaded are welcome to weigh the report and of course make their own decisions. I do believe that there will be something new or a different slant to many.

This gift of the mind is referred to in scripture by Paul as; the mind of Christ. At that time I had no idea of this ability of the Lord to speak and to author ideas in my mind. So, as I traveled I replied ( in my mind, that was the way he started), okay, who am I? The next reply was; you are who I said you are. I knew that he was referring to the scriptures. Then for the next hour or so he brought up the description he had of me as recorded in the New Testament. The church at large has no idea of who they are, as I also had no idea. To this day I don't fully understand, for instance; how can I be the body of Christ, flesh of his flesh, and bone of his bone. How can I be the temple of the Holy Ghost, or risen with Christ and seated with him in the Heavens. I am a new creature, whose citizenship is in heaven, I'm born from above. These things are the truth of God, yet to have the revelation of them in me is not manifest. So we accept them as truth, and by faith hold to them, awaiting the revealing. It is the work of God, as he said, we are one!? Wow

Needless to say I started viewing myself in a new light, where once I saw myself as in need in different areas, I saw myself as sufficient for any task. Instead of in need, I am the supplier. I now have knowledge working for me, and by my faith I accept the promises that are unseen and work in cooperation with God to manifest them to the benifit of man.
I don't know of a man that has recieved all the Lord has provided for him in Christ, such a man would be a likeness of Jesus, and that promise is for everyone of his people. In the meantime we have hope in God that, He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.

This then is the starting point, no matter who you are, your thinking yourself in one light or the other is going to define the things that you say and do. Either for good or bad, right or wrong, for better or for worse, you will behave according to your beliefs about yourself.
As a present example consider this post from; Title: Freedom's Messiah,

The American Thinker: "Cardinal Manning once famously said, all conflict is at its base theological. " The Wisdom of his observation is proven time and again. Simply put; it is what you believe; your starting point, what you put your faith in, that determines your behavior.

If we agree or disagree on the point, or essence of the article it is evident that the reality is ,who do you think you are, is the biggest part of who you will be.

Shadow Boxing

It seems that the news of the day has everyone fighting an invisible foe. All the talk of Social Security, without one piece of text to point to either the pros or cons. Is it all a test to see how much resistance is generated by the threat of a change, what a Power Poker Play!
Some play, their is a very cleaver person at the White House. I am sure they monitor the news and run poles; they just ran this up the Flag Pole, to see if anyone salutes. I guess that is what they're paid for, or I mean what we paid for, hmm.
At any rate it tied up the Hill, so nothing important will be noticed, or done. Speculation is much more fun when you can't see the other man's. It's also more costly when you guess wrong, and over value your own hand! We'll have to wait to see how this will play out, and see who was bluffing.
I still am writing on self, maybe this weekend.

The Gift of Life

Life is a gift from God, to be used and enjoyed. To be useful is fullfiling and rewarding to the person and to the society of their influence. A man with a gift must also be able to take pleasure in the using of that gift, and that is a man who is alive. This is represented in the admonition of: "whatever you find to do, do with all your might, as unto the Lord".
The Evangelical Underground has a good article, and timely too. He's writing about the importance of finding your own niche, what I would call; being yourself. Everyone has unique experiences and influences in there life that has helped to form there opinions and personality.
While some of the other people want to conform to a standard ( of sorts ) I personaly like the approach of Individual Integrity. The ideal of being true to yourself, and of representing yourself truthfully.
It is timely in that this is a new weblog and I have the experience of others to build on, but not having the same experiences. They have learned by the doing, and I can benefit from there wisdom, and save time on my learning curve. This I think is one of life's most valuable lessons. So I will endeaver to use the lessons of my life, if by some chance it might benifit someone else and make their life more joyfull, and mine too.
That brings us to the beginning of the question, Being Yourself. This seems to be a simple enough question. Far from it, to understand who you are is to understand why you act and do the things that you do. I will give you my understanding of this quite complex issue in my next post.

Making sense out of a Deceived World

This is the age of deception, delusion, and confusion. All the way from Preachers of God, who have no knowledge of Him, only a thousand hours of study of His words. Which is like reading the adventures of Huckelberry Finn, and calling yourself a Master of the Mississippi! Then we have the Politicians who are sworn to represent our interest, doing everything but that. Almost all of our leaders are involved in some Sleight of Hand, not showing us the things that are going on behind our backs. How about those Doctors, if they got paid for results like a Car Mechanic, they would quit and work for the Big Three Automakers. So why do they get those big fees, I'll tell you why, people are afraid, that and they think they are a monopoly, where else can you go?
If our other Leaders were doing there job they would tell you, go to God! You hear instead that God no longer does those things now that we have knowledge, I Tell You that is not knowledge, that is Arrogance! The politicians are no better, they are elected to finish a war and the next thing you know, they're their trying to steal you retirement. Is that what they were put in office for, No. Is it the real problem, or is it smoke in your eye, to keep you from focusing on the real issues. What Bigger problem is there than the National Debt, that they are spending all of the cash that the population can produce, if we are going for big issues, this seems like the place to start. The two are compared to giving a man a ride to work, so the authority's can repossess his house. Does that make sense to you?
There is a lot of talk about spreading democracy, is this what we want to spread? The drafter of the Constitution talked about having a minimal government. That it should be the least intrustive to the citizen, not blow all his money for him. I think they would be appalded at this government. If they're serious about solving Social Secerity, why not have an economic panel from all the institutions come up with there ideas. If indeed it is a problem! A better question is why ,for all the talk, don't be see any plans so we have an opprotunity to investigate the cause and effects of one opion over the other. If we want to get at the truth, that will have to be open to debate. With out facts, or opoins, it can't be debated. It seems obvious that this is a tactic to divide all the people into scared little groups: The Big Bad Wolf is coming, better run to your favorite protector (you can trust me). At the very least it splits the population, what a stupid idea that is for a man who says, I'm a reconciler!
I for one am not dumb enough to trust any man with telling me what is right without having a chance to question it for myself. My life is not dependent on the government, there life is dependent on me and you as fellow citizens.
Nor will I call any Doctor, healer: there is one and only God.
I welcome your comments, together we can debate the issues that effect us all.