Faith
You know those kind of people who claim to be Christians - they believe in Jesus, they pray and read their Bible everyday, they go to church at least once a week, they may even serve in a ministry and pray for other's salvations... but they don't personally trust God, or believe all of His Word or His character? I'm related to one of these "Christians", and we often butt-heads over daily and common situations because she lives her life in her set theology, trapped in her circumstances, defeated and broken, and whenever I try to remind her of what God's Word actually says - she dismisses me with a mighty swoop of judgement.
Here's another one - Christians that are so afraid of being seen as "above the masses", or self righteous, that they dive into carnality to "appear human" to others. They avoid being spiritual, because they would have to be led by Someone they can't control, and they focus on being practical to hide their lack of dependancy on God. Pastors are like that all the time, they want to be accessable and relatable to their congregation, but instead of showing them a better way - they show their people that they are just as weak instead - and that that's normal. Now don't get me wrong - all in the body of Christ are loved and viewed equally by God, and everyone without Christ is unable to please God or be saved. We all have MUCH growing to do. Pastors, teachers, apostles, prophets, evangelists, even deacons ought to be transparent, open and honest, and also have a close accountability with each other within each church. But we are all at different levels of maturity, and the goal isn't to rest in or take comfort in our immaturity and say "well, that's just the way I am", but instead to strive towards maturity - those in church leadership should be above their congregation in maturity, and faithful in serving them and God. Mistakes happen, but excuses shouldn't. Everyone is given a different gift and call, but we are all given a measure of faith and it is up to us to develop that faith. The reality is that in ourselves alone - we are weak, we are powerless and small, we are all plagued by a fallen world - but in Christ, we have the ability to live the life of Christ in a real living way!
Or what about the Christians who get so dishearted by the circumstances they are presently in, that they fail to see that maybe God is working in them for His purposes? And rather than simply asking God what is it that is really going on, they try to fix the situation themselves out of their own power - which is faulty, because we're all only human on our own strength. And then in their own efforts, they hinder God's working and prolong their own agony. Why aren't we as believers living out an intimacy with God that so permeates our very beings that we are mighty forces that the world and Satan fears to contend with? If Jesus said that we would do the things He did and even greater things, why are we still stumbling over ourselves and unable to even live out the Word in our own lives? And after that, how can we do ministry out in the world when we can't even minister to our own spouces and children?
Is it a pharisaical spirit, a hard-heartedness, or a human logic idolatry that causes this condition? Maybe a little of each or maybe it's different for each who suffer with it. Either way - what is the solution, or what is the result? Are these types of "believers" even actually saved? Ok - that's a judgemental expression, so I'll reask the question. Sure they may very well are saved - because of their faith in Christ Jesus and his atoning sacrifice and God's grace, but are these individuals fulfilling their purpose in life or acheiving all they can in Christ? I'd say, NOPE. And these types are probably getting in the way of others doing so in the process. I know my particular relative certainly does all she can to discourage my faith, without realizing it, and maybe thinking she's trying to help me. Who knows? Anyway, I pray for her, and try not to receive her human logic as much as possible.
I got to say - what ever happened to Christians actually just reading and studying their Bible, and lining up with it? After all, it's Truth - it's the very Word of God, and it reveals God's character. What ever happened to Christians actually depending on the Holy Spirit and spending intimate time with God? If we humbled ourselves to God and allowed the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth, teaching us the Word, the will of God, the living voice of God, and allowed Him to work in and through us - not only would the Church be in unity, doctrinally and spiritually, but we would be a powerful force throughout the world.
I know it's far easier said than done - to lay ourselves out on the altar for God to melt us down and reconstruct us the way He wants, to police our old nature to stay up on that cross so that the new creation can live out the life of Christ. It's hard to let go of something good or desirable, even to pick up something better - but when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we have that ability and more. Why are we Christians living our lives played and abused by Satan, hiding behind our comfort zones, and getting kicked around when we are no longer slaves, but children of the Most High God Almighty?!?! We are losing ground in our daily battles in a war that is already won - how lame is that? When GOD comes before everything else in our lives - and Christ becomes our life, everything else lines up by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is so sad that we have been graced for so long, and we are still in this infant condition. It's time for us to grow up!
Balance
I used to be quite the extremist. My husband will atest to the fact that I lived most of my life by the motto: "If you're going to go, go all out." Every thing had to be one way or another, black or white with no grey area. Every piece of newly restored revelation about GOD that I discovered led me on a frantic dive into it that made me forget everthing else. From an outsider's point of view, I could have been seen merely as starving for a truth that simply wasn't available to me before, but from the inside, it was more than hunger that fueled me, it was pride. It was pride because once I devoured the knowledge and absorbed it into myself, I thought a little less of those around me that didn't have this particular piece to the grand puzzle. The new bit of knowledge somehow made me a little better than everyone else.
Let me start at the beginning...
A few months ago, I got onto some Christian message posting sites - to do some research on a paper I was writing. I thought I could get some insight and surveys on what the typical American believer thinks about various topics opposed to the world's mindset. I was shocked by the responses I got. Taking into consideration the physical and spiritual ages of those who commented, I was completely surprised by how much of the Christian community is so ignorant of God's Word, or more accurately, holding much tighter to their personal opinions and traditions than to what the Bible actually says. As I looked deeper into the posts, I discovered that many of those who thought this way were pastors, teachers, or older people who had been saved and in church their whole lives, from nearly all denominations across the board, as well as teens and young adults and people recently saved. There were very few people posting that had true spiritual wisdom, and I certainly pray that those who don't have true spiritual wisdom will stop posting as if they do until they do, for the sake of everyone reading them.Anyway, the viewpoints ranged from one extreme to the other - and quite adamantly too. The few who responded in calm conviction with comments that lined up with Scripture, were also presenting a middle ground, an even balance to all the excessive opinions. A place where every point fit perfectly together in moderation with it's opposite view, and God's heart on the matter was clearly displayed. But these voices were far too few and were swallowed up in the majority. At first, I thought "Wow, what a ministry opportunity!" I thought maybe I could contribute to the minority group and be a blessing to all those souls who are misinformed, and the unending sea of those who needed help drew me in. But I soon discovered that the majority of Christians posting didn't want to be informed, they wanted others to believe the way they did, regardless of what God's Word says. No one wanted to compromise or find a real solution to the issues. No one wanted to put their own opinion down to take up the truth. Not my "truth", they weren't rejecting truth according to Jé, they were defending their own preferences to anyone who posted the straight up truth of God's Word! They wanted unity and agreement - on their terms, not on God's. After a while, the weight of their attitudes and constant fighting annoyed and frustrated me beyond what I could handle and I disappeared from the message board sites. Not even sure that I wasn't there in my own strength anyway (as in God didn't specifically instruct me to spend time there in ministry), I retreated to reflect and mourn for the state of American Christianity. What are the church leaders in America teaching their people? Anything at all? Not according to the hundreds of people posting their points online.
Finally it hit me. It was a symptom of a deeper rooted problem that I should have well recognized to begin with - pride. These people grew up being taught one thing, or experiencing something else, that led them to certain conclusions. Maybe there was a Scripture that was taken out of context or used to feed a particular bias - but the effect of such a long or dramatic worldly lessons drove whatever it was into their identity. It was something that made them feel better than someone else.To compromise or even really listen and learn from each other was offensive to their ego. For myself, I saw that pride must be a common childhood sickness in the church, for which few churches know how to treat, and instead they just let it run it's course to whatever end - getting better or getting worse.
Over the years, as I have sought God at nearly any cost, He has allowed such things to come at me to tear down my walls of pride and I have correspondingly moved from being an extremist to being much more balanced. The more I know of God, the more I know that I am nothing without Him. The one piece of truth that I have come to deeply live by is that God is Supreme. His Word and wisdom stand forever. He is always right and powerful, faithful and unchanging, and He is merciful beyond imagination, and I in myself am none of these things. God is equally balanced - loving & just, wise & mighty, forever & present. I will always strive to balance my life completely based on God's Word according to the Spirit and not on human reasoning and motive. I'm so joyful and humbled that God can use me, the weak vessel as I am, to pour the truth out to others that He pours into me. No matter what gifts or revelations I receive from God, I am nothing more than a servant to Him and to whoever He sends me, and that is a far sweeter life to me than all I could be or achieve on my own!
Those who know God's Word, and are submitted to the Holy Spirit to teach them and lead them into all truth, should encourage other believers to do likewise. When we take in God's Word taught directly to us by the same Holy Spirit and not by people, then we will all reach unity in the faith and all other differences within the Church body will resolve themselves. God works in the heart, and when you humble yourself before Him, you can hear His instruction without letting too much of yourself get in the way. Jesus is the Head of His church and we, as believers, are all a family - we should be growing up strong in Him, not stumbling over and over again on our own toys, and not fighting with each other. I pray that we get there one day.
Hello & Welcome
I feel like a lemming running in the modern pop culture pack and taking a flying leap off the nearest cliff of virtual vanities. So here I am, adding yet another blog to the world wide web, as if my ventings and expressions really contribute to humanity bettering itself. But I admit, it does make me feel slightly important, even if no one out there ever sees this, and I'm sure it's at the very least therapeutic - so why the heck not!?! Guess I'm taking the plunge. Who knows, maybe in my weak attempt to share my life and spiritual journey, I might just happen to be a blessing to others in the process.
So, let me start by introducing myself: My name is Jé. (pronounced "Jay")I'm a committed and passionate seeker of and dweller in truth... so I'm a Spirit-filled believer in Jesus Christ founded on GOD's Word. I'm not a part of any denomination nor organized religion, but simply a child of GOD and member of His universal family. I worship corporately in a great church called Grace Center. I'm currently studying full-time at Biblical Life College & Seminary, but since I committed my life to Christ, 12 years ago, I've been studying Scripture like crazy, along with compare and contrast and in-depth education surrounding GOD in all His revealed aspects, so learning is more of a career than a life phase for me.
I'm a wife to a wonderful guy (10 years married in May 2006), and I'm a momma-friend to a cat who I've had for just over 16 years.
More to come!
I got to say - what ever happened to Christians actually just reading and studying their Bible, and lining up with it? After all, it's Truth - it's the very Word of God, and it reveals God's character. What ever happened to Christians actually depending on the Holy Spirit and spending intimate time with God? If we humbled ourselves to God and allowed the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth, teaching us the Word, the will of God, the living voice of God, and allowed Him to work in and through us - not only would the Church be in unity, doctrinally and spiritually, but we would be a powerful force throughout the world.
