I JESUS?

I arrived at Starbuck’s at a quarter ‘till 6 this morning. Out in front of the store are people waiting to get in, not one or two but easily a dozen or more.


My first thought was some poor bedraggled youth worker had drug his entire youth group out for coffee after an all-night lock-in or something. Upon second look, these aren’t kids under blankets and on lawn chairs camped out in front of my destination, these are adults.

Not being use to needing to get in line for my early morning coffee and being a curious fellow, I ambled up to one of the men on the outer edge and asked, “What’s everyone doing here?” “The new I Phone 5 comes out today, were in line to get ours.

I will get-up at 5am to mentor and be mentored in the Lord. I will stay up all night at a hospital, if need be, but I CANNOT imagine that I would ever camp out all night in order to buy a telephone, “There are over 500 people over at The Apple Store” my informant volunteered. “You must be expecting some important phone calls” I answered, to which Johnny-at – the- end of- the- line just smiled.

What a deep recession we are in; when people will camp out all night for the opportunity to pay hundreds of dollars for a new cell phone! I was tempted to walk the line asking the people waiting there if they had any unpaid bills at home, but I decided there are better ways to die than by a mob in front of AT&T.

It really does make me wonder how addicted we are to convenience when the release of a new model phone is a reason to sleep on the sidewalk. I watched one young man as he was listening to his Ipod, working on his Mac Book and waiting in line to but the new I Phone 5 which will replace his I Phone 4 and pondered the possibilities for the next generation. Is such addiction to gadgets really progress?

Don’t get me wrong, I practically live on the computer and my Ipod is my favorite possession and my wife would argue that I could not live without either, but my phone is my phone and there are times I wish it just hung on the wall at home like the one I grew-up with. Times I wish I could turn-off the ringer and enjoy the evening with Tammy without interruption and be in the car without people being able to call me, and yet I never leave work without calling my wife on the way home and she seldom leaves home without us speaking to each other a couple times a day.
I guess as long as people have time to play with new gadgets, there will be new gadgets to play with, but I wonder; how many people would camp out all night to get into a church? How many would sleep on the sidewalk to spend time with a friend in need? How many would invest hundreds of dollars in ministry which has eternal implications, but no new apps? Just wondering. Amen!

Blessed are ye, when [men] shall revile you, and persecute [you], and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Matthew 5:11


The most intolerant of men are those who prop themselves up before God upon the thrones of their religious traditions. They see any who vary from them in form or direction as heretic or cultish. They never take into account that their form of worship would be suspect other than within their own communion.

Do not misunderstand me; I am not a Deist. I believe with all that is within me that there is One God, One son who is fully man and fully God; who came and died for our sins providing the only path for the salvation of men and One Holy Spirit who is the instrument of God’s guidance. I believe Jesus when He said, “I am the way, the truth and the light, no man comes to the Father except through me.” John 14

I am speaking of we who claim to know Christ as our only Savior who war against one another for traditions sake. They (we) ignorantly say, “You don’t do church like we do, your faith is no good!” Or you question long-held practices of Christian worship, you must be a cult!” or “You read your sermons or sing the wrong songs or don’t sing at all, you must not love God as we do!” And God, who is ever present and eternally compassionate toward all His children, weeps.

The mark of Christian maturity is tolerance for another’s differences, including how they choose to worship Christ, unconditional compassion, as we each learn to live as Christ and acceptance, as we all wait for the return of Christ.

Let us each one work our own salvation with fear and trembling as Scripture dictates and let us each consider one another above ourselves. Amen

Amen

Is Christian Community A Farce?

Does true Christian Community exist? Is it even possible in this day and age? Is it possible in an age when few seem to value honesty or love or correction or sincerity? We love farce and entertainment and show, but we run from instruction,correction or discipline.

Is true Christian Community possible in an age when mothers refuse to tell their daughters, "No!" and fathers are more afraid of thier wive's disdain than their son's destruction and thus also refuse to say the wonderful word, "No" to thier off-spring?

Does anyone one love enough to give corection? Does anyone love enough to receive it? Without honest love we make Hell a closer reality for one another than Christian Community.

We ignore "Faithful are the wounds of a friend" and we surround ourselves with others who enable us in our disfunction, we embrace those who smile to our face and lie behind our backs., We fire pastors we disagree with, with no regard for their welfare or the future of their families. Years of service is forgotten or ignored while we gather to ourselves lying teachers so please our itching ears.
Is Christian Community even a possibility anymore? I sometimes wonder; God wants it, His Son died for it and the Holy Spirit desires to epose it, but He isn't going to force it upon us and I don't see many who desire it.

TEMPTATIONS

This morning, I was reflecting upon the years I spent in a spiritually abusive church. I was trying to remember what held us there. Out of my mouth came a prophetic utterance that said it all.

There was a time that Tammy and I were given the opportunity to become Pastors of a wonderful church in a little town in northeast Ohio. I went to our pastor for guidance; his advice was, “You have so much talent, you don’t want to bury it up there where it will be isolated and hidden.” He followed that with the promise of full-time employment “just as soon as the church can swing it” and thus we decided to stay where we were.

As Tammy and I were talking, I said, “I promise you the Kingdom’s of the world”. Where we were, I was being seen on the Pastor’s TV show, the Church was on the verge of imploding, but we thought it was on the verge of exploding and the pastor I was under had a lot of connections and was widely known.

As the words slipped out of my mouth I was reminded of Jesus in the wilderness and I began to analyze the tricks the devil had used to keep me enslaved. The devil has NOTHING original; in this instance, the pastor was saying it would be a sin for my ministry to be hidden, what was the temptation of Jesus in Luke 4:5? “And the devil, taking him up into a high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.” He said, “This will all be yours’” We stayed because this little church in a secluded burg could not offer our ministry the exposure that surely God wanted for us – how foolish!

Secondly, through the years another “tool” that was used was first the promise and then our dependence upon financial support from this church. I wanted to be “full-time in the ministry” so badly that promise after promise held us there and once we were put-on full-time, our dependence upon the support kept us there. What was the first temptation to Christ? Luke 4:2” Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.” The devil said, “here’s the stone, turn it into bread!” He used sustenance to tempt him, nothing new.

Finally, when all else failed and he was through with us and we had awakened spiritually to the abusiveness of the situation, the Pastor vowed to destroy me. If the enemy can’t woo you or when you awaken to his lies, he will seek to destroy you, but he can’t because you belong to God. Luke 4:9-11 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in [their] hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.” Satan tempted Christ to kill himself, knowing that he couldn’t do it to him. This pastor tried to ruin my marriage, my reputation and although he sent us out with “his blessing”, later publicly vowed to destroy our ministry.

Tammy asked me a valid question this morning; she asked does any of that matter after all these years? And it does, only to warn others that the enemy will use even ministers and churches to abuse you. He will use “Ministry opportunities” to sidetrack you; he will fatten you up, just to dine off of you and when all else fails he will seek to destroy you. You needn’t fear, the enemy cannot defeat you; 1Jo 2:13, 14 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him [that is] from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him [that is] from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.” AMEN!

YOUR CHOICE

Your choice is simple; how will you live TODAY? Will you live selfishly or selflessly? Will you live for yourself or will you live for others? Will you be self-focused or other-focused? Will you look inward or will you start the day with a new outlook?

If your thoughts are continually focused upon you; you are in danger. The person who does not think beyond themselves is carnal and apt to fall easily to temptation. If on the other hand you love God more than yourself and your neighbor more than yourself your thoughts will be higher than much of the temptation that is put in your way.
Every temptation that Satan tempted Jesus with in the wilderness was aimed at a selfish man; are you hungry? Are you spiritual? (You are so special to God you could even throw yourself off this building and He would have His angels catch you) Do you desire wealth, fame, all this world has to offer? Fortunately Jesus wasn't self-focused; He was focused on doing what His Father had called Him to do and to be whom He was created to be.
How about you? It really is very simple; it’s your choice.

WHAT IF . . . .

What would happen if....this Sunday people went to church because they really desired to be there and not out of obligation? What if the Preacher confessed his sins to the congregation and encouraged them to do the same? What if the people in the congregation who are angry with each other and not speaking would go to each other and repent and ask forgiveness of one another (regardless of who started the argument or hard feelings)? What would happen if every person who ever left another church in anger returned and apologized to their former congregation and fellow congregants? What if every church leader refused to manipulate, control or coerce another single person? What if every board, committee and pastor would voluntarily surrender "their authority" and sought the priesthood of every believer? What if we dismissed our “service as usual" attitudes and dismissed the praise bands, put away the hymnals, turned-off the projectors, and threw away our sermons? What would happen if we removed all the chairs or pews and bowed together, waiting for the move of God? What would happen if we left our church buildings altogether and went out into our community to do community service of some kind? What do you suppose would happen if we refused to pass the collection plate and instructed people to give only as they could cheerfully give? What if believers everywhere would join together in Jesus' Name and do NOTHING but wait?

Would we call such an event church?