Spiritual StarScaper: the Life & Times of Jé

Practicing

2008-04-04T13:52:00.013-05:00

I saw something interesting in an article I read lately entitled, Britons Losing Religious Beliefs. The thing that stood out to me was the simple phrase, "...most of those who say they are Christians do not practice their religion".

What a telling phrase! Written by a secular reporter, just saying it like it is based on her research - it reveals the root of a lot of the world's problems with Christianity and hits the nail on the head about the Church's lack of power to be much different from the world.

There are two distinct (and probably more less obvious) issues that come to mind when reading that phrase. One issue is, why are people claiming to be Christians if they aren't "practicing"? Is there even such a thing as a follower of Christ that doesn't "practice" their faith? After all - "follow" is an action word, you're either following Jesus or you're not.

Ok - people confuse terminology and hold differing definitions to words all the time. So I can see where a person might think they are a Christian when they might actually mean to say what they agree with the Christian theology over other theologies, or because a person's family are all Christians, they might assume that means they are too.

I can see where a person may get confused with nationality. I don't particularly "practice" being an American, although I am one... wait a minute - I DO practice being an American by voting and paying taxes, by supporting our troops, by being bound by the laws of this nation and by using the privileges and rights of the laws of this nation. I'm practicing being an American right now - by using my rights of free speech! So that doesn't count.

Ok - how about people calling themselves a Christian because of the synonym "believer". A "believer" could be defined as someone who believes in Christ (who believes that Jesus is Who is said He is - the Son of God, Who died and rose again and now reigns from heaven with the Father).

That's a definition, but it's not the definition according to Scripture. The western concept of "belief" is a philosophy, an mental acknowledgment. But in Biblical concepts, "belief" is a lifestyle. God's Word teaches us about grace, that we cannot be good enough, do enough good works to earn salvation - and that by believing and trusting in Who Jesus is and what He did, that God grants salvation to us. That is very true and the core principle of the Christian faith. But what corresponds with this core principle is the fact that believing this truth with our hearts and minds animates us to take up our cross and follow Jesus. Without our response of first repenting of our own ways and then of obeying God's ways, our mental beliefs are in vain, they are useless doctrines and nothing more. Remember Jesus' warnings ...

"'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.'" Matthew 15:8-9

"If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5-6

'Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?" Luke 9:23-26 and

"And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple. Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.' Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out." Luke 14:27-35

More people are deceived by the western concept of "belief" than there are true believers. After all - even the demons believe... but that doesn't mean they are followers or saved (James 2:17-19).

The second issue is, the lack of practicing in Christians. Christians - meaning, people who are disciples of Jesus, members of the body of Christ. If there is such a thing as a non-practicing Christian, why aren't they practicing??? If you say you are a believer, but you aren't practicing your faith, then what is it exactly you are believing in? Obviously you aren't believing Jesus' words.

People behave according to their beliefs. If you truly believed that a bridge will break, you won't step on that bridge. If you truly believed that your house were on fire, you'd grab what that the most valuable to you and run out of the house. If you truly believed that Jesus is Who He says He is and that He'll be back one day, at any time, you'd be living out your faith daily - even if you do so poorly one day and great the next.

I personally don't believe there is such a creature as a non-practicing Christian. If you believe - if you are rooted into the Vine that is Jesus - then you are either growing, or mature and producing fruit ... you are practicing. You are either training for living the life of Christ in this life, or practicing for eternity in the next. Sleeping believers will be cut off of the Vine and thrown into the fire (John 15). A mental ascent isn't enough... we must be living for Jesus or stop claiming His name! Even the Lord Himself would prefer us to be one or the other (Revelation 3:15-16).

So - on with the practicing, for practice makes perfect! Let us honor our Lord and Savior by picking up our crosses, dying to self, and living gloriously in His power and strength - doing as He did - and bearing fruit worthy of His name that we wear on us and take with us everywhere we go! Let the world start seeing that it means something to be a Christian and that our God dwells within us by His Holy Spirit! We can't be 100% perfect in these mortal bodies - but we can be forgiven and free - and covered in grace while we never cease trying to finish the race we started in Christ!

I'm Pro-Choice

2008-03-18T12:36:00.001-05:00

After reading up on the political issues lately that separate the liberals from the conservatives in the current presidential race, I'm the most angered over the abortion debate. This very hot topic has been going on for way too long and has a very simple answer - but no one seems to be saying it. I have no idea why this has not been settled yet, aside from the fact that no one wants to be the one to draw the line in the sand. Well... I'll say it - I'll draw a line.

It frustrates me to no end about how pro-choicers are all about the woman's rights while leaving out the woman's responsibilities. I'm Pro-choice. If a woman doesn't want to have her body to go through a pregnancy... then she should choose to do everything in her power to not become pregnant in the first place. If a woman becomes pregnant and she doesn't want the child, she should choose to give birth to it and then give it up for adoption. The choice is not whether or not to terminate the pregnancy - it's the choice on whether or not to have sex, or it's the choice to keep or give away the baby. If you choose to have sex, then you take on the risk of becoming pregnant and that responsibility becomes yours to bring the child to full term and give birth to it. Case closed.

Ladies, FYI... ruining less than a year of your life to bring a baby into this world is a fair consequence for the act of doing something that you know may result in that very thing happening. There are too many good, loving couples in the world who are infertile and really want a child that they themselves can't have. Waiting lists for babies are a mile long, but would be shortened significantly if meaningless abortions weren't an option anymore and adoption was the only way to handle unwanted pregnancies.

I mean, come on! If you eat pizza, cake and ice cream by the pound at every meal every day - there's a very good chance you'll get fat. That's just the consequence of that action. You can't eat like that and then decide to opt out of the fat part with a quick procedure afterwards - you have to do the work to burn off the fat yourself, and that takes lots of time, energy, and sometimes lots of money. You don't get to choose NOT to gain weight when you eat like that. The choice is in whether or not you eat like that, or in whether or not you work to take the weight off. Why is it called liberation of women and supremacy of individualism when abortion is really just trying to avoid consequences? Are we as a society that lazy and self-consumed as that? Are we really a God-less nation and have turned from Him to serving only ourselves already?

Now for the line in the sand. I do believe in moderation and exceptions. Here's the only three exceptions I believe should apply to this very simple solution:

Sometimes, it's not the woman's choice to have sex. Sometimes a pregnancy results from rape. In this case, a morning after pill or an extremely early termination should be allowed as an option. I propose this exception for several reasons. The first one being because I do believe the mother's life and health supersedes that of a human not yet formed. Rape is traumatic and the product of such a violent crime would only cause added pain and suffering emotionally to both mother and child. I'm not saying it should be mandatory - but simply an option for that woman who was already forced to go through so much. Certainly, I would encourage any rape victim that got pregnant to carry their child to term and put that child up for adoption, but to force her to do so might very well be what causes her to lose the sanity she's managed to hold on to up to that point. Of course, HIV or AIDS can also be a horrible and detrimental by-product for a sex-crime victim, and in that case - I think attempted murder should also be added to the offender's crime list. But that's another topic.

(While I'm on the topic of rape - I think a man should be put in prison for life, if not given the death penalty, for rape. And that he and/or his family should pay for all the expenses and responsibility for the results of that rape, including whether the woman terminates the pregnancy, keeps the child, or puts the child up for adoption. People suffer for their family members' bad decisions all the time, and a family is as responsible for raising a person capable of rape as the person who raped is responsible for his actions of rape. Maybe it will be a higher deterrent of rape, if the penalties were shared around to people he loves or more strict on him personally for longer. If pregnancy or disease happens to the woman as a result, or even if therapy is needed (which is most probable), then the rape offender and his family should pay what ever medical bills or whatever comes as a result for that poor woman.)

Ok - back to exceptions to the rule. Another exception is if there is something clearly wrong with the baby. Sometimes nature doesn't know to take it's course in miscarrying a child that is forming wrong. Every parent prays for a healthy baby, and do all they can to help save and bring to health an unhealthy baby. But I'm not talking about health as much as I am about mis-formation, babies born with major deformation or severely impaired. I'm talking about human beings who will never be able to live on their own or be able to do anything but be put in an institution to be cared for hand and foot, those who do not know who they are or anyone around them. Again, I'm not saying it be mandatory, but only as an option to parents. As technology increases, we are able to see earlier on into the development of a pre-born baby. Some parents do not have the means to care for a child born in this condition, and this person becomes a burden to the state, all the while the person is living but will never really have a life. In this case, if doctors can accurately predict a baby being developed wrong, even though I'd encourage prayer for healing at such a diagnoses, the option to terminate that pregnancy may just be the most merciful thing to offer the parents and the child. This is another situation where releasing the life to God where he/she can be whole and happy is better than making them simply exist through a lifetime in this world.

And the last exception would have to be in the case of the mother's health. As I stated before, I believe that the mother's life and health supersedes that of a human not yet formed. If the mother's health is at risk to carry the pregnancy to full term, and a C-section or other medical attempts are not going to work, and the choice comes down to one dies or they both die, then I think there should be an allowance for a termination of the pregnancy in that situation too.

Other than these exceptions, I can't see any reason why abortion would be legal or right. Where I draw the line in the sand may be too far one direction or another for some, since it's totally subjective. I don't have Scriptures to back up any of these points. I'm going by the Law of God that He's written on my heart. I know He's a merciful God as well as just - I know He's the Creator of all life, but I also know that God's aware that sin causes a less than perfect situation in our human existence.

Speaking as a believer - if I were single and made the mistake of choosing to have sex, and I became pregnant when I didn't want to be, I would pray for God to change my heart, and my choice would be whether or not to keep the child after it was born or put him/her up for adoption. Since I'm married, if I chose to have sex without lots of protection and became pregnant and I didn't want the child, I would pray for God to change my heart, and my choice would be to change my attitude about the child. If married, I chose to have sex with double protection and I still became pregnant - well, that's just God stepping in and handing my husband and I something of His to take care of and I need to get in line with that.

But since America is not made up entirely of believers, illegalization of meaningless abortion is how I would deal with this issue across the board. It seems like a no-brainer to me, and the fact that people try to attach it to a women's rights peg in the wall seems just plain stupid to me. If they are trying to level the playing field for men and women in the game of casual sex - I've got a better solution. How about both just wait until marriage to have sex?!?! And then if an accidental pregnancy occurs, count it as a happy accident and move on. Ok - knowing that the world doesn't live by the standards of God... how about the man who gets a woman pregnant has to pay for everything, has to completely support the woman all through the pregnancy. Back to women's liberation... that answer will make women cringe. Women don't want to have to be supported by a man. Understandable. So I'd tell them to not be in a position where she HAS to be supported by him, but that she just HAS to take his money throughout her pregnancy and as long as she keeps the child, because that's the price he's paying for choosing to have sex in the first place. (See... Pro-choice again. )This sounds a little more level to me! Save up the money and take a vacation or buy a new car - who cares, as long as someone is providing for the medical and nutritional expenses of the mother and child. The point is - people equate money with power, especially in a relationship where one person holds all the money which the other person needs. I'm suggesting purely money without power. No strings attached, no power plays or control or any rights of say from the man over the woman, just the money. Of course - as parents, there should be equal rights and say between both the mother and the father of the un-born baby - but that should be an entirely different and separate thing from the money the man should pay. And I digress into details.

The point is - if you choose to have sex, you are choosing the possibility of getting pregnant and carrying a child full-term physically and/or financially. That's your choice.

GOD or Allah: A Closer Look At The GOD of the Old Testament

2008-02-13T08:55:00.005-06:00

I recently went on a research journey to compare the OT genocides and killings ordained by GOD, versus the violence, massacres, and jihad of Muslims - which ended up breaking down into the fundamental differences between Christianity and Islam. It was a study that I've wanted to do for a while, but just recently felt it was time.

I started my study out of the fact that I was hearing the same complaints from believers, or ex-believers who became skeptical over GOD's Word, the Bible, because of the incredible similarities on the surface between the "OT GOD" and the "allah of Islam". Of course, believers in Christ Jesus believe they worship the one true GOD, and Muslims believe they worship the one true god, and many people in the middle believe that these two groups are worshiping the same God, just using different names for Him.

Well, I know enough about Islam to know that the god of Islam is not the GOD of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, or Moses, the Father GOD of Jesus our Messiah, the Creator of all things. Even though their Quran names these patriarchs and prophets – it denies the uniqueness and oneness of Messiah the Son with the Father, and it adds the first son of Abraham, Ishmael, who was not the son of promise, but who was the work of Abraham’s flesh and from whom the Muslim nation is descendant from. Clearly they are a nation who is jealous over GOD’s chosen people, following a god who is jealous over GOD.

Thier god is a copycat god, their system of religion is out of fear, based in hate, and the root of their power is... welll, ... demonic. Their god leads them away from the true GOD and seeks to be the object of all worship. Their god promises forgiveness, but does not provide the means for that forgiveness – he does not provide the blood to cover sin – so who’s blood does he demand? Not animal sacrifices, but the blood of people, even if it’s his own people’s, even if it’s from his own faithful people.

So if allah and GOD are two totally different beings - then why was the seemingly "less favorable" behavior of GOD in some parts of the Old Covenant so similar to the behavior of allah today? Well, first of all, the comparison must go the other direction. GOD's actions and commands in the Old Covenant came before allah ever showed up (as allah anyway). So the question to ask is, "why is allah's behavior so similar to some of the behaviors of GOD in the Old Covenant?"

First, let's look at these "less favorable" acts and commands of GOD in the Old Covenant and put aside allah for a minute. A greater understanding is needed about the difference people see in GOD's actions and commands in the Old Covenant versus His actions and commands in the New Covenant. GOD is the same GOD - the GOD that is both love and holy, Who is compassionate and merciful as well as just and righteous throughout Scripture from the very beginning to the very end. GOD is the same yesterday, today, and forever - He doesn't change, so why the difference between His Word in the Old Covenant and in the New Covenant?

Examples:
Leviticus 24:19-21
If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured.
vs.
Matthew 5:38-46
"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous."

Leviticus 20:10
"'If a man commits adultery with another man's wife — with the wife of his neighbor — both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death."
vs.
John 8:3-11
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"
"No one, sir," she said.
"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."

Numbers 31:1-3, 7-10, 14-18
The Lord said to Moses, "Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people." So Moses said to the people, "Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites and to carry out the Lord's vengeance on them. ... They fought against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed every man. 8 Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba — the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with the sword. The Israelites captured the Midianite women and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder. They burned all the towns where the Midianites had settled, as well as all their camps. ... Moses was angry with the officers of the army — the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds — who returned from the battle. "Have you allowed all the women to live?" he asked them. "They were the ones who followed Balaam's advice and were the means of turning the Israelites away from the Lord in what happened at Peor, so that a plague struck the Lord's people. Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.
vs.
Luke 6:27, 30 -38
"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you... Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.
"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."

Are these truly contradictions? No - because these Scriptures are all taken out of context. It isn't one OR the other, it's one AND the other depending on the circumstances of the time and when it was said. The difference in the way GOD treated people who were against Him before Jesus died on the cross compared to after, and His requirements for His people had to be the way it was under the Old Testament, because of sin.

Sin requires a blood payment. The wages of sin is death. GOD is compassionate and merciful because He was patient and gave people time to repent, He sent warnings and validations that He is faithful, as He still does today. GOD took no pleasure in the killings and deaths that were the consequences of sin, and He even provided a way to stop the blood sacrifices - by giving up His own Son's life blood to pay for all sin.

And what's allah's reason for slaughtering and punishing the "infidels" now? Because allah wants to be GOD, and wants blood sacrifices poured out in his name - not to pay for sin - not to forgive - not to redeem - but simply to destroy and take over with power. Obviously allah has no problem with killing and has no desire to stop it - nor has a desire to stop sin - because he has not provided a way around it. allah shows no mercy nor gives lifetimes for people to repent. allah is not just.

So, am I saying that killing certain babies (or innocent children, or men and women of good character) in Jesus name because I believe GOD instructs me to is right? If GOD instructs me to kill the innocent, is it really GOD Who's telling me to? Would GOD tell me to kill the innocent? GOD is always the same and GOD has instructed His people to kill men, women, and children before, so why is it evil now and righteous then? If it is GOD Who's instructing me to kill the innocent, wouldn't I look just like the terrorists and jihad soldiers? If I killed people who rebelled against GOD now - would I be doing something righteous or evil?

It is evil now - because Jesus paid the penalty for sin - not for just “some” sins, not just of the sins of those who believe in Him, but He paid the penalty of all sins for all time, for all the sins of all the world. People don't have to die before their time in payment of sin because Jesus already died. All people can live their life and choose to come to Christ for eternal life - or not and after they die, be condemned and sentenced to the second death (John 1:29; 3:16; Hebrews 10:12; Revelation 20:14-15). So no, GOD would not instruct me to kill anyone for sin now - because sin is dealt with differently now - because of our Lord Jesus.

Islam has no Savior - they deny Who Jesus really is, so allah must continue to be god the only way he can - through fear, hate, domination, violence, ignorance, and persecution - he keeps his people in the dark. allah's people commit evil when they treat others in this way - just as believers do evil when they treat others in this way today and have done evil treating others this way throughout history after Jesus' death and resurrection.

Before our perfect atoning sacrifice in the form of GOD, manifesting Himself as Jesus, came – GOD provided a temporary fix for sin in the sacrifice of animals for those who would believe. Why animals? Because animals don’t have sin, and the animals that were required to sacrifice couldn’t have any defect in them either, because sin is a weighty and costly thing. To rebel against GOD and His ways, to act contrary to His righteousness, even accidentally, costs something. So what of the people who wouldn’t sacrifice or conform to GOD’s righteousness? Without the blood of Jesus covering sin for all the world – what would become of these people? Did GOD give them a chance to repent and choose to give up their sin to follow GOD? Why didn’t GOD simply allow the rebellious to live as they were and give out due punishment at the end of their lives? Why kill the children who were only acting out what their wicked parents had taught them?

We know that before Jesus came, the dead went to the place of the dead. A holding place for souls, referred to as the grave, until the final judgment. This place was not Hell – as in the place of eternal fire and torment. We learn later that this spiritual place was divided into two sections – one for the souls who believed GOD and the other for those who didn’t. The side that held the souls that didn’t believe GOD was a miserable place (we’ll call Hades), where the other side was comfortable (we’ll call Paradise). After Jesus died on the cross – it is first said that He went to Paradise and then on to Hades where He witnessed of GOD’s salvation to those there and then led those who believed His words from there to Heaven (brought those that were in Hades over to Paradise to wait for the final judgment) before He was resurrected on the earth. GOD’s mercy even attained a way for those who died rebelling against Him to have another chance to be saved! GOD is just. He leveled the field on the sin factor between the times of the Old Covenant and the New Covenant! (Psalm 9:16-18; Luke 16:19-31; I Peter 3:18-20; Luke 23:43; Revelation 20:13; Ezekiel 26:20; Philippians 2:10; Ephesians 4: 8-10)

Knowing this factor… combined with the fact that GOD is all-knowing and reads the hearts of all human beings, knowing their future choices and fates… we can begin to see GOD’s righteous justification and mercy then for what is a horrible concept to us today. All humans are destined to die once, and the final judgment will bring either eternal life, or the second death (Hebrews 9:27). Genocide of entire populations before our Messiah came to do the eternal work of salvation was maybe the only punishment for their own sin that they would ever receive. Children who had no choice when they were younger, who would have grown up to choose rebellion and in doing so would have caused more devastation were given their destinies to die once before that could happen and sent to wait in Paradise instead.

Now that Jesus has come – has died and rose again – and has ascended to the right hand of the Father GOD, the sin factor is dealt with. All those who reject Jesus and His atoning sacrifice decline His salvation from the second death. They go to miserable Hades when they die and then at the final judgment they will be banished to Hell, the second death. There will be no last minute visit from Jesus after they have died to give them a second chance to avoid Hell. Because of this, we are not used as instruments to inflict judgment on people here and now. People are untouched by other human beings to live out a full life of rebellion against GOD if they choose, because the life they have on the earth, is all they will have. It is wrong to snuff them out early. (This is different from crimes against governing laws - I'm taking about spiritual laws). We can beg and persuade them to accept GOD’s free gift of life, but it is not up to us to dole out punishment for others' sin against GOD if they continue to rebel.

So, back to allah. Allah is not just, nor loving, nor merciful. The afterlife for Islam is “Hell” or “Paradise” without second chances after death as well, but in addition to this, allah also seeks to dole out punishment before people’s appointed time, when Jesus has paid the price for all the world’s punishment. Allah’s people are sent out under a “convert or be killed”, or at least a “convert or be harassed and abused” mandate when it comes to those outside their religion and a "conform or be harassed or abused" mandate within their religion. GOD has never endorsed torture or abuse, only quick death. And now, because of Jesus, not even that. With allah, there is no lifetime to repent in peace out of love, there is only fear and persecution. Sounds familiar doesn’t it – "the enemy comes only to kill, steal, and destroy". Allah steals people’s time on earth to repent, allah kills people who do not bow to him, allah destroys people’s freedoms and lives. There is no explanation or understanding for allah’s cruelty and unsatiable wrath except for the fact that he remains furious towards GOD and GOD’s prized creation, human beings. Allah must strive to maintain control and worship of what little he has where GOD doesn’t have to strive at all – everything is already His and cannot be taken away.

This allah is none other than satan himself, who seeks to have GOD's glory for his own. Writing a book of his own, making it sound similar enough to real Scripture, telling half truths and believable lies, stroking the sinful nature of male chauvinism, lust, and dominance and rage, giving false power, and promising things he cannot deliver on, deceiving people with words of peace while requiring actions of hate, using terror to keep people in his tight control and mindless obedience, all to lead people into believing he is the ONE TRUE GOD. But he isn't, he is the temporary lord of this world and enemy of GOD and true believers. Satan/allah has used Abraham's works of the flesh performed with the slave woman, Hagar, to take an entire people group and enslave them to himself - making Islam the chains by which he holds them down (Galatians 4:21-31). Those of us who have the Spirit of the living GOD within us can see allah clearly for who he really is - and we can trust that the One True Creator GOD and Father is faithful to be Who He reveals Himself to be in His Word. We can be confident that our Messiah Jesus is our salvation and King of all and no longer have to be confused about surface similarities! Our GOD is good and loving, the Creator Who gives life and provides a way for us to have eternal abundant life. Our Lord GOD - He is the One True GOD!

Does GOD Choose NOT To Heal?

2007-08-06T14:31:00.000-05:00

Every month or so, I get together with a group of women to talk about life, GOD, and catch up with each other. We're friends who used to all go to the same church but have since moved on or away to other areas. Last night, an interesting topic of debate came up that got me wondering what other Christians might believe on the issue. The discussion question was: Does GOD choose NOT to heal sometimes?

Some of you may be thinking that is a silly question. Some have a hard time believing GOD heals people today anyway. I'd say many Christians believe that GOD heals today, and I'm sure most hold the opinion that there are times when it's not in GOD's will to heal certain people for whatever reason. Everyone has seen or heard of believers who have had a sickness or disability where they have prayed for healing, believed for their healing, and yet they end up dying or they never get their healing. Since that is so common, it's an easy conclusion to say that sometimes GOD just chooses not to heal.

And then there's the other side where the opinion is that GOD always heals so then people who aren't healed are accused of not having enough faith or having some sort of sin issues that prevent them from receiving their healing. It's discouraging to hear "you're not doing enough" when all you want is to get healed and you are already doing all you know to. Ok, then there's the further element of Satan getting in the way, attacking so that you don't receive your healing, and so on top of prayer for healing, people gather around the sick to bind Satan and lose the person to be healed. And then what? If even that doesn't make the person whole - after having the elders lay hands on the sick and pray for them, after confessing and repenting sin, after fasting and eating by a Biblical diet, after believing with your whole being in faith for a healing... and it doesn't happen, what does that mean? Doesn't that lead a person to conclude that sometimes it isn't GOD's will to heal?

All this is life experience - modern American experience at that - and is the exact opposite of what's taught in GOD's Word. We can't base our beliefs in what we see around us, in a fallen world, we must place our beliefs on Scripture and eternal truth. GOD's Word clearly shows that is it GOD's desire that we be healed...

"Fools, because of their rebellious way, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted. Their soul abhorred all kinds of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions." Psalms 107:17-20

"But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed." Isaiah 53:5

"Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous can accomplish much." James 5:14-17

"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give."
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 10:8-9 & 28:19-20

"But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing," says the LORD of hosts." Malachi 4:1-3

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with loving-kindness and compassion" Psalm 103:2-4

"Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness." Matthew 9:35

"But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit,... to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit..." 1 Corinthians 12:7-9

"How blessed is he who considers the helpless; the LORD will deliver him in a day of trouble. The LORD will protect him and keep him alive, and he shall be called blessed upon the earth; And do not give him over to the desire of his enemies. The LORD will sustain him upon his sickbed; in his illness, You restore him to health." Psalm 41:1-3

"And He said, 'If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer.'" Exodus 15:26

We've all read these, and there's not a verse to be found where GOD denies healing to one who's requested it. So, why the big gap between GOD's promises and our reality sometimes?

Sin is a factor:

"There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation; there is no health in my bones because of my sin." Psalm 38:3

Satan is a factor:

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." John 10:10

Lack of faith is a factor:

"And Jesus said to him, "Go; your faith has made you well..."
"Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you." Mark 10:51-52 & 11:24

Lack of asking is a factor:

"In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full." John 16:23-24

Obedience is sometimes a factor:

"So they were saying to him, "How then were your eyes opened?" He answered, 'The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, "Go to Siloam and wash"; so I went away and washed, and I received sight.'" John 9:9-11

Most believers who seek healing deal with all these factors appropriately - so what's the factor that those who get healed know about and those that don't get healed miss? Is the missing factor the fact that GOD simply chooses to heal some but not others - even when both are as valuable to Him, both have dealt with the factors involved in their own lives, both would go on to fulfill faithful purposes for the kingdom, and both healings would bring Him glory? GOD knows the very heart and minds of each of us - He knows and sees what is buried, even from ourselves. Do people who are suffering years and years without healing ask GOD for spiritual sight and wisdom to see what the hindrance is? If so, do they get and deal with the answers? Even if GOD withholds healing for a time (like in Job), isn't that even for the purpose of bringing that person closer to Him and giving that person more victory in the long run? And even so, GOD doesn't leave the person like that for the rest of their life on earth, or allow that person to die, does He?

Death comes to all of us - it's the physical consequence for sin in the world. But sickness and premature death shouldn't exist for believers in a way that it defeats them. Early death from persecution and martyrdom, sure - but not from disease or physical deformities. So why the low percentage rate of healing within the Body of Christ? Maybe there's one more factor...

Lack of an intimate relationship with GOD is a factor:
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the Vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." John 15:4-8

Perhaps it's the same reason why the church lacks in power in nearly every area of the Kingdom - we are lukewarm and not as rooted into the Vine as we should be. We are not reading and learning and living by GOD's Word - we are not seeking Him and His righteousness, we are not passionate about kingdom affairs, we are not eagerly desiring the greater gifts, we are not plugged into our spiritual life Source as we should be. We are not spending our time fasting, praying, praying in the Spirit, worshiping and adoring at the feet of Jesus, learning and growing in Him. We are weak because we run to the world for human answers and by the world's standards in lifestyle. We are not taking up our disciplines and responsibilities of being children of THE KING of all the universe, the Lord of every cell and molecule that makes up every physical thing. We have lost our saltiness, our lights are dim - we do not fully trust GOD and we do not fully resemble the Lord we serve yet. We must learn to pick up our true identities in Christ - take up our spiritual gifts and use them without fear - we must put our own agendas under GOD's supreme will! Let us stop speaking out curses (doubts and discouragements) giving power to the enemy, and start speaking out blessings (the Truth of God's Word) and lining our whole lives up with that instead! Let us push deeper into Him and wrap our lives and beliefs around His Word, not the other way around! Let us learn our spiritual gifts, be led in them by the Holy Spirit, and serve each other in the Body of Christ with them! We need to be praying for the Holy Spirit to disperse the gifts of healing out on the church, and we are in need of those who already have this gift to stand up and actively bear fruit with their gift! We need to be willing to pay what it costs to move freely and powerfully in the Spirit with His gifts to us so that we are effecting the world we are in - not being effected by the world!

To purely trust God isn't always easy in some areas - and for some people more than others. We all stumble and doubt at times. I would never look down, blame, or judge a person who called out to God for healing but never got healed - but I will never put it off on GOD either. It is the church as a whole that lacks and has failed when the individual is full of faith, sin has been dealt with, Satan has beaten back, and the prayer and obedience has happened and healing still doesn't come - because GOD is ALWAYS faithful to His Word and loves His children. He has granted us healing in as much as He has granted us forgiveness - we can be just as assured of the one as we are of the other. It is GOD's will to heal us of physical sickness as well as spiritual - we can come boldly before him with thanksgiving, praise and joy along with our humble and heartfelt asking because we know we will be saved! We know GOD desires to heal us, we know He's promised to - we can rest in that knowledge and trust Him. We can trust in GOD to deliver us from all evil when we call out to Him, praying, asking and trusting in Him! It is not in GOD's nature to choose not to heal a believer who asks believing, any more than it is in Him to deny salvation to the sincere person who cries out for forgiveness and salvation. Praise GOD for His grace and mercy!!!

Distracted

2007-03-18T12:41:00.000-05:00

Ever feel like forces from all sides are pulling you in every direction but the straight path to where you know you should be going? One day you can be completely sure of your purpose in life and confident that you are where the Lord has placed you and then the next day you wake up and you are no where near where you ought to be. Of course, a major change in direction doesn't happen all in one day - it sneaks up on you subtly over time - getting you distracted with little innocent things at first until you find yourself on a detour path away from the main road. Waste of time - yes... harmless - no, even if it feels perfectly fine. The longer you are on the long and winding road getting further and further away from the narrow road, the more clouded, lost, and confused you become. Compromise turns to losing yourself completely. Everyone slips off their path from time to time, and I've been doing just that for a few months now.

I remember a time when I couldn't doubt God if I wanted to - now I am surprised to find all sorts of doubts creeping into my mind that aren't as ridiculous to me as they were before. I'm being slowly corrupted and deceived - the enemy's favorite ploy, and I've fallen for it. How it began - that's easy to pin point: I became too busy. Some believers are gifted and called for business - to work for the Kingdom within the world's arena. Some believers are gifted and called to minister within their families. Every believer is called to be a light wherever they are. But me... I just got busy. Work, school, marriage, rest - it's all important in my life - but none of it means anything if God is not my primary and essential focus. I took my eyes off of my highest priority and wasted time, energy, and passion on lesser things until God was squeezed out of my life altogether. And here I am, lost in a place I thought I'd never end up again, all because I chose not to take the time... chose not to MAKE the time. I allowed myself to be too busy to read God's Word, to pray - too busy to be with Him. Lack of listening to God, not taking the time to learn and depend on Him, how could I not be led astray? After I stopped listening, I stopped talking to Him as often as I used to until that dwindled into barely a "good day Lord", then I soon found myself too tired to worship, and automatically the things of the world rushed into my heart to fill the gap I've left there. I was a soldier on duty who let "stuff" distract me and I took my guard down. Legitimate responsibilities even become illegitimate when they consume the time, energy, and passion that belongs to the Lord and His Kingdom. Falling is easy - it's effortless and simple... climbing is the hard part - and that's exactly the part where I've finally woken up in. I took off my armor and got hit on every side.

One sincere prayer transports me back into the right direction, takes me from way out here in the wilderness and places me back on the path following at the heals of our Lord Jesus. One honest repentance and seeking Him brings me home. My spirit cries out to be restored and back in the arms of my Father while my soul hurts for where I am and that I've enjoyed every moment that took me here - which only reveals just how tainted I've become in such a short amount of time.

Distraction - it leads to death and I've become so numb and cold already. I can see where I am and I do not have the strength to pray that one prayer that opens my heart to be rescued. Do I even want to fight anymore? Do I even care enough to climb or do I just continue falling? I know the Holy Spirit is calling me home, even for me to recognize my horrible condition and my pitiful situation is a gift of God reaching out for me. Without strength left in myself, do I pray today out of my head knowing it is the right thing to do - and then I fail again tomorrow? Or do I cry out to Jesus to enable me to actually mean my words to Him from my heart, my confession, my need for Him, my commitment to get back on the path and reconnect with Him? I need to come home. I can't let the world get in the way of the life and purpose Christ has paid so dearly for to give to me. I can't continue down this detour road that only leads to death, no matter how easy or appealing to my flesh it is. I must fight - fight off the hold this world has on me, fight the enemy with all I am and depend on God to give me the strength and power I don't have in myself. The enemy will not take out another warrior for the Kingdom of God - not me, not today.

Lord Jesus, help me - I need You. Father, How great is Your mercy and grace! Forgive me for allowing the thorns to choke out the seed of Your Word in my heart, forgive me for ignoring and displacing You with lesser things, I'm so sorry for walking away from You - I didn't mean to. Protect me from the lure of the enemy, save me from myself, keep me from walking away from You. Father, restore me to Your side, please wash me clean in Your Holy Son's blood and bring me back to where I need to be. Grant me Your power to withstand the pull of my wayward human attachment to this world that is passing away, and Your strength to not be decieved by the enemy's schemes against me. Lord, renew in me a clean heart, and a purified mind. Flood over me with Your Holy Spirit, fill me up to overflowing with You so that I may be once again led by the Spirit and in His power to live it out as You will for Your glory. Fill me with Your life so that I may truly live again and not fall to the bitter death that I have been dying in. Remind me of my earlier training as a daughter of Yours, as a warrior in Your Kingdom, and never stop teaching and getting me ready for the battles to come. Heal me where I am weak and broken, and empower me to get back out there in Your name. Use me as You will Father. You are my Creator, Sustainer, and King of All - the Almighty. You are good, You are love, You are truth, You are all that matters. None compares to You. Thank You for saving me! Thank You for my life - it is Yours. I love You Lord. In Jesus' precious name. Amen and Amen.

Hero

2007-03-05T07:23:00.000-06:00

I've been recently stuck in the soul-sucking distraction that is TV lately, specifically, the show Angel. My husband drew me into it after his work buddies drew him into it. And I've never been a Buffy fan, and have steered clear of fiction that played around with depicting the demonic in a good light - but this character of Angel pulled me into that world without much effort at all. Why? Because he reminded me of my husband. That dark-eyed Irishman with a big heart and a deep soul reflected the core of who my husband is in a lot of ways to me. A guy with a dark past getting past his demons to become who he's meant to be for others, a sad ballad man who can also pull out zingers that will leave you laughing for long minutes and smiling for hours. Intimidating until you get to know him and see how much he's willing to give for his friends and family, he's the guy who could lose control but is unwilling to let himself go there. Not to forget, not too hard to look at either. :) But mostly - he's a hero, who is growing, sacrificing who he is to be someone better, doing what it takes to do what is right and to help anyone he can.

My husband wasn't always this man - in fact, he's only begun to be the hero I know God has called and purposed him to be. I suppose that's why I can really appreciate that quality coming out in him now. A striking recognition of this fact hit me the other day when I had a tire blow out on my way to work. I called my husband, who was already en route to his very busy day at work, and his first words were a tender and urgent, "I'll be right there", without any moan of annoyance or frustration about the situation. He immediately turned around and was willing to blow off his whole important work day to come to my rescue. You might think, "well, yeah, isn't that what a husband is supposed to do?" and yeah, maybe it is - but it was heroic to me. It was a 100% selfless act where he took charge to make sure I was safe and sound as soon as possible, and maybe that's what husbands are when they do that - heroes, even if it's just to their own families. Maybe that what wives are when they are there for their husbands, maybe that's what parents are when they protect and care for their kids - heroes. So my husband took off the flat, put on the temp spare for me, and followed me at 15 miles an hour down the shoulder of the highway for miles to get to a repair shop. He was tired and very dirty by the time he eventually got to work, and he didn't get done there what he needed to that day, but he proved what was more important to him, and that meant the world to me.

Anyway, if you can avoid TV - do! But if you happen to get sucked into a show like Angel, it's good to remember that any everyday believer is an ambassador for Christ, the King of all Creation, in this world, and we are His hands, hearts, ears, and mouth to reach out to this dying world - we can all be heroes in His name to someone in need. We have the power, because Jesus does, and even as flawed human beings we can still be His instruments to bring His light into someone's life.

Jesus Doesn't Want A Child Bride

2007-01-07T09:16:00.000-06:00

In general, the Church, the Bride of Christ, has been stunted and left as infants for far too long. When Jesus returns for His Bride, will he find a child, or a mature and beautiful woman? As we near the end times, we as believers must take a good long look at ourselves in the mirror and assess our level of maturity, wisdom, and power as children and ambassadors of God in this world against our age, knowledge, and our hosting the very presence of the Living God within us. Especially in this country - the nation of plenty, resources, and freedoms unmatched by a majority of the world - we believers all have access to God's Word, and means to do in-depth study of it, as well as the ability to submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit's teaching and interpreting it to us. We all have the ability to put our own personal lives on the altar and pursue God and His kingdom, living for Him and His purposes only. Why has nearly 2000 years left the majority of us still craving milk rather than meat, seeking comfortability rather than sacrificial obedience, gratifying the flesh and causing divisions within the Body rather than considering others better than ourselves and walking in unity? (Hebrews 5:12-14; I Corinthians 3:1-3)

"And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature humanbeing, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love." Ephesians 4:11-16

Look at what Jesus gave us, in order to grow us all up: five fold ministry leadership positions within the church - two of which have been rejected by a large portion of modern day theologians. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Anyone who can read, study, and be led by the Holy Spirit to learn God's Word can easily see that a vast majority of people who claim to love and respect the Bible fail to live up to that claim in their life by their words, deeds, or attitudes. We can easily see the enormous gap between today's church's priorities, power, and structure compared to how we are instructed in God's Word. As in the time of Jesus on the earth, the pharisaical spirit has once again fallen onto the church and remained there - and we are guilty of revering our traditions over God's Word. We prefer our version of doing things over what Jesus said. We use God's Word to interpret what we do instead of determining what we do on how the Holy Spirit of God interprets His Word to us. And here we are - void of any salt to flavor the world with, dimmed lights that barely are noticed in the dark - here we are at the mercy of pop culture and political agendas being nearly useless as a whole.

I know that there are some out there - that are not only genuine in their belief in Jesus, and in their love of Him, but that also lay down their very lives and take up their cross daily to follow Him. But these few are one or two in not even in each local congregation of sometimes many hundreds. If everyone in this country who claimed they were a Christian really was a Christian - there would be very little room for legal crimes, homosexuality, divorce, lawsuits, etc. in this country - not from legalism and religion like how this nation ran in former decades, but out of a pure love for Jesus and by His power and freedom to stand up to injustice boldly, from the Law of God written on our hearts. Non-believers and those who live contrary to God's Word would be put in the position where they would honestly repent and come to Christ, or in their rebellion be compelled to leave. Sadly however, not everyone claiming to be a Christian in America really is.

Each believer is responsible for their own spiritual walk, but church leaders are perpetuating the spoiling and ruining of the natural growth that the church as a whole and the members individually ought to be doing. Church leaders continue to teach the church members things that are sound to human wisdom, comfortable to human flesh, and based in human tradition with only a hint of challenge because it is easier than to go against hundreds and hundreds of years of corruption and suddenly just go back to what the Bible says. Sheep follow their shepherds... even unto missing the mark, and what a tragedy for both.

As it stands, each and every church member is not growing or functioning properly in their relationship with Christ - some have not identified their spiritual gifts and place of ministry within the body, or opt not too, some are new converts who are not being fed properly, some keep their spiritual lives for Sunday mornings and go about their own agendas and priorities every other day of the week, some are still struggling under bondage that the church fails to help them with, some (and I think most) are not being prepared for service to the church, or taught how to love and serve their own families, or how to be a witness to the world around them. Discipleship is not one on one mentoring and teaching as it is meant to be, but group general education one or two hours a week. We are soldiers in a spiritual war and the majority of us aren't taught to put on our spiritual armor, aren't trained to fight and live victoriously, and aren't supported by leaders who supply "medics", strategies, and inside information that they should be going directly to God for to get for everyone else. We are left defeated, wounded, or working with the enemy, barely hanging on just to survive... we are still children being tossed around on the waves and not on solid ground.

I say - let's make a call to all believers to put aside their flesh, their agendas, their personal goals, and seek God for all He is. Let us dust off our Bibles and read, study, learn about Him and His will and seek to obey Him out of a heart-filled love and appreciation for His atoning sacrifice to save us and His continual faithfulness to love, provide and protect us. Let us tear down our idols, tear down our false beliefs and unforgiveness, and let us tear down our man-made churches so that we can rebuild them on the foundation of Christ Jesus and His Word. Let us seek to put on the Holy Spirit as anointing and walk in the power and love that Jesus did as we learn to do in our own communities what Jesus did in His while He was on the earth. Let us find no one in our neighborhoods that hasn't come face to face with an opportunity to accept Christ as Lord. Let us be the contact to the Source of healing and deliverance that the world comes for help. Let us love one another and relearn God's Word in unity of faith. Let each one of us, every man, woman, and child who are in the kingdom of God, live by the Spirit and empty ourselves to be filled and used to further God's kingdom on the earth. Let us grow up, and put the ways of selfishness and fluff behind us. Let us submit to one another and to the Lord so that He can transform us into a pure, spotless Bride. Jesus doesn't want a child Bride - He desires a fully mature, strong, and beautiful Bride, who chooses Him and adores Him over everyone and everything else, who's passion is His passion, a whole Bride that is unified and One with Him. Let's get to work! Let's prepare ourselves for the Groom!

Jeans

2006-11-18T17:43:00.000-06:00

From the picture here of two brothers, one dressed in jeans and the other in pants... which one "appears" to be dressed "nicer"? They kinda both look like they are dressed equally nice to me - casual, but not bad or careless or dirty, wouldn't you say?

Now... let's talk setting. Picture these two in a worship team band on a Sunday morning. Who out there reading this blog is on a worship/praise team... do you find the way these two are dressed offensive for a Sunday morning worship service? Do you find the one wearing jeans to be more offensive for a Sunday morning worship service?

Chances are, that if you go to a traditional denominational church or even a suburbin interdenominational church, you would find at least the jeans irreverent and out of place on the stage/platform for a Sunday morning. And likewise, if you go to a non-denominational church, this is almost (but not quite) upscale for those up front on a Sunday morning. You'd think "dressing up" would be a style preference, or the way some are taught to "wear your Sunday best", but it's more like an imposed code in a lot of places instead. What's the point about the clothes, you ask? Let me tell you.

Today my husband and I went to a Worship Arts meeting at the new church we've been visiting. We've been really praying about this church and we were feeling like this is the place where God would have us stay for a while. Step one is investigating getting involved, so we went to learn more about their vision and method for the worship team. All of it sounded great... until they got to the dress code: No jeans. It seemed to be a new rule they were putting into place because for the past few Sundays we were there, we saw at least 2 or 3 people wearing jeans on the worship team. At this announcement, I looked around the room full of 40 year olds and younger... all wearing jeans, and getting a confused/disappointed look on their faces. The leaders then proceeded to give their reasons: they didn't want to offend anybody (What?!?!?!), and they wanted to make a good impression on the church. I was absolutely stunned...

For one thing, I get a little offended when I go to a church and don't see anyone on the worship team wearing jeans. It looks more like an elitist group than a worship team. Not everyone is a business man or woman in style, not everyone are preppy yuppies who casually lie around in Dockers, and not everyone is at an economic level to go out and buy classier clothes. Most musicians simply look stupid dressed up in a fake style that doesn't reflect who God made them to be. Some people are hard working blue-collar folks who only go to work or school in jeans, and who can only afford the very basics. Are these people not allowed to be on the worship team, even if they dress in a clean shirt and a nice pair of jeans? I'm blessed beyond measure when I see diversity on a worship team: one guy is in a suit, one guy in khakis and a polo shirt, one guy in jeans and a t-shirt, one girl in a skirt and blouse, another girl in jeans and a nice top. This shows that people are who God made them, and they aren't in a social club of clones, but very different people coming together in unity and as one on the worship team, praising God together.

For another thing, the leaders there need to get a wake up call to the fact that if anyone who would be offended by jeans on the stage visited that church, they would be offended by most everything else that is going on in that church too, and they would turn around and walk right back out before they even noticed what the worship team was wearing. For starters, it's a Spirit-led church, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom - freedom from sin, freedom from bondage, freedom to worship and serve God as He desires (II Corinthians 3:17; Isaiah 61:1-3; James 1:25; I Corinthians 12). Any legalism puts a man-made restriction on what Jesus died to liberate us from. The last time I checked, wearing jeans didn't count as a indulgence of the flesh or as being evil (I Peter 2:16; Galatians 5).

And thirdly, I didn't think we human beings were supposed to be impressing other human beings, but only God. God doesn't see as mankind sees, by appearance, but God looks at the heart (I Samuel 16:7). Shouldn't we be a people of God that only looks at the heart?!? To impose such a dress code reinforces us to continue to judge by appearances and to not even attempt to stretch ourselves to look past the outter shell to see the real person inside. This also teaches people to be self conscious rather than God-conscious - looking at themselves to make sure they are dressed right, thinking of themselves as lower somehow because if they aren't dressed as "nicely" as others.

This particular church has wall to wall people wearing jeans in the congregation on Sunday morning worship services. Are we in a position to say somehow that those on the stage are an upper class from the rest of the body? Does one who regularly gives God his very best in the crowd, wearing jeans, have to suddenly "put on airs" to join the ranks of the worship team on the platform? Or is this a subtle way of pushing people who are comfortable wearing jeans out of the church by all of leadership exampling a business wardrobe style? It's not wrong to dress up - but it's not wrong to be casual either.

I believe in excellence in the church. I believe God deserves the very best, every minute of each day, not just on Sunday mornings - the very best of our time, our gifts and talents, our finances... all that God gives us... in action and in our hearts. I don't see what that has to do with what clothes we happen to have on while we are on the stage on Sunday morning worship services opposed to every other day of our lives. Shouldn't we be constantly worshiping, and aren't we always on display to the world, even when we're in ragged sweat pants and stained t-shirts with messy hair in the supermarket on one of those rough mornings. It's our attitude and behavior they are watching. Everyone has the rough mornings that they can relate to, it's our peace in Christ underneath it all that shines out as different. It's our morals and obedience to God's Word and love for Jesus, not our style of dress, that will impress them. I believe excellence is worthless if it is performance (works of the flesh) and not real. People have to be real, open and honest before the Lord and before others. Being the best at who God made you to be in Christ is displaying excellence to both God and people. We must be true to ourselves and to God, we must represent Jesus... not our church, denomination, work, friends or family. If God created you to be a business man or woman in the kingdom of God, then by all means, represent that in your clothing whenever you are out of your house. But if God created you to be an artist, a manual laborer, a full time mom or dad... then wear what you normally wear and be proud to be what God has called you to be, even on the stage on Sunday mornings!

Then comes in the argument: "If we don't put a limit to it, people will end up coming to church sloppy, thinking they can wear anything they want". People, especially Christians, much less those in leadership, are not degenerate animals; we tend to have a level of cleanliness and desire to look nice whenever we leave our house. But it's not like I don't think clothing doesn't matter at all. I know that there is a level where our clothing makes us different from the world. I believe that clothing matters... when it comes to modesty. Anything too tight or too revealing is improper for a Christian no matter where they are outside their home, not just when we gather together. Immodest dress IS a very real (not superficial) hindrance to people and it's the way of the world that we aren't meant to follow after.

Do you follow the traditions of men and require people in your church or the leadership to "dress up" in services, when they will be on the stage, or even behind the scenes in the offices? Under the principle of giving God your best, do you shun or alienate those who's best is jeans and a t-shirt from leading others. The church is not a variation of corporate America, we're not in the business of self-promotion, and we've got nothing to sell. We have a message of a free gift to give away to any who would accept! We are soldiers and children in the Kingdom of God - let's put away being "prim and proper" for appearance sake and get our hands dirty worshipping and serving the Lord as Who He created us to be for His glory!

Somewhere to Get Covered

2006-11-13T13:20:00.000-06:00

Two weeks ago, my husband and I noticed a new church close to our house that seemingly sprung up over night, meeting in a house that was being slowly reconstructed into a bigger gathering place. At closer inspection of the sign out in the front yard, we discovered it was a Four Square church - yeah, a denomination, but compared to everything else around, and seeing how we were on the edge of desperation, this new church seemed like it was worth a try. So we visited the worship service last Sunday.

It was a great "family of God" experience, which I was totally unprepared for and not even used to anymore, which also took me by surprise. There was great worship (not nearly long enough) and the sermon was good. Unfortunately, there was the "passing of the plate" tradition to collect tithes and offerings, and there was the Lord's Supper taken in like tradition, however the unleavened bread was actual broken pieces of unleavened bread rather than tiny little square crackers - which was refreshing! They have home groups and we've been needing that for a long time. They were all very friendly and made us feel welcome, so my husband and I decided to go back yesterday. Again, a great service (although the worship wasn't long enough) and we got to meet the pastor who impressed me with his sincerity (a quality that isn't in enough pastors), and his passion for Christ Jesus and the Kingdom of God.

Even if this isn't a home for us to permanently establish ourselves, it certainly would be a satisfactory place to stay for awhile until God tells us it's time to move. The Four Square denomination is a really good one... open to women in ministry, teaching the full-gospel / charismatic perspective of God's Word, and ministry minded towards those in need. It does lack observing the Mosiac Covenant aspect of God's Word... but don't most denominations lack in that area? Most importantly, it seems like a very good place to plug in and get spiritual covering for what God has for me to do. Maybe we can stay here, or at least stay linked in partnership with this church, while I go through school. I've been praying for a good church for so long, and now it looks like this body of believers is God answering that prayer!

Halloween Vs. Reformation Day

2006-11-01T08:23:00.000-06:00

I was reading a few blogs yesterday from Christians either bashing Halloween, sticking up for Halloween, or distracting the attention away from Halloween and putting it all on Reformation Day. I was quite fascinated with the viewpoints out there and sort of baffled about the Reformation Day thing. For one, I had never heard of Reformation Day myself... so I looked it up.

Apparently, some protestant denominations observe Oct. 31st in honor of Martin Luther posting his 95 Thesis on the church door on that day in 1517, which began the Great Reformation. They were claiming that Martin Luther chose that day to make a point... that Jesus had come and died on the cross, defeating Satan forever, therefore he was declaring that all forces of evil was harmless and Halloween was no longer a day of demonic activity. That all sounds good, like far fetched wishful thinking, but it also sounds like a pretty big stretch based on the facts. To say that's why Martin Luther posted his argument against the doctrines of Catholicism on the church door on October 31st is just as opinion based as pure speculation. I also have an opinion about why he posted it on October 31st... because he was declaring that the Catholic/papal practices were demonic works, or at the very least, man-made superstitions driven by people who were not interested in honoring God. That's my opinion, but I have no hard facts to back that up either.

Anyway, I see nothing wrong with celebrating the Reformation in general, which played a part in God beginning to bring the Church out of captivity of Satan's reign in Catholic/papal form. It led to protestantism breaking away from a very religious organization into a faith based on a personal relationship with God. But it was just a part, and it was just the beginning, and we as the Body of Christ are still struggling, wandering around in the wilderness trying to be restored to where we are meant to be. Martin Luther did some good things and was used by God for a time, but I wouldn't praise the man too much, because God could have used anyone to do what he did, and not everything Luther did or said was of God and some of it is not worth celebrating at all. But I will say this, Luther was a man of faith and convictions and he put himself in the position to be used by God mightily by standing up for what he knew was right in the face of powerful religionists, and with great risk and sacrifice. We are in need of such people today, who will go against the grain of church tradition to become the Church according to God's Word!

And for another thing, I'm a bit interested at the range of opinions about Halloween itself from Christians. From "it's no big deal" to "Halloween participators will burn in hell" - it all seems to be coming from what people are or are not being taught in their churches about it. Some churches do a little teaching about it and hold a costume party, pass out treats, and have their own fall festivities. For the sake of "outreach", they do hayrides, carve pumpkins, and roast marshmallows at bonfires, inviting the world in to participate with them instead of with traditional "Halloween customs". Some churches do a lot of teaching about it and hold a prayer vigil that night and pray for the lost, doing spiritual warfare against the enemy. Some churches don't do any teaching of it at all and ignore the Halloween season altogether. In those cases, you'll find the Christian parents who remember trick-or-treating fondly as children and buy into the commercialism and tradition of the day, and their family gets really into it - dressing up, taking their kids to haunted houses and out for beggar’s night, and getting a kick out of trying to scare each other. All harmless fun, right? Ignorance is bliss, isn't it?

Halloween, by the way, is "All Hallows Eve", the night before "All Hallows Day" (All Saints Day). This is a day of honoring dead saints in the Catholic church, which was moved from sometime in April in the 700's A.D. and placed upon the ancient pagan holy day of the Celts, Samhain Night, festival of the dead. Samhain was a fire festival when the "dead revisited the mortal world" and large community bonfires would be lit to ward of evil spirits. Often it involved divination, honoring "gods”(demons) associated with the dead, making offerings to the spirits, necromancy, and soothsaying. This day is also one of the high holy days in the Wiccan calendar today, taken from it's pagan origins.

It's bizarre to me that believers are even tempted to engage in the world's system of holidays at all! Christmas, Easter, and now Reformation Day... you'd think that the Church would wake up and see that those are pagan holy days dressed up in Christian clothing. God's Word instructs us and gives us more than enough Holy Days and Festivals to celebrate God with - but we refuse them and go the way of the world anyway. How sad. It's bad enough that Satan has orchestrated idolatry on set days that God established as Holy Days unto Him - do believers now also have to chase after those pagan holy days with thier idolatrous customs and slap a "Jesus" sticker on them to excuse it?

Let's get back to the Bible and base what we do and don't do on God's Word rather than on the customs of the world. Purim (the festival of Lots) is a Biblical holy day that could be celebrated joyfully with costume parties, feasting, candy and plays - a celebration that fosters great joy and worshipful acknowledgement to God for saving lives and for working behind the scenes to bring about salvation! Rejoicing in life, not death. The festival of Tabernacles lends itself to autumn celebrations as we live out in our wooded shelters for a week - roasting marshmallows together with our families in a campfire, celebrating Jesus' birth and worshipping God for His constant grace, provision, and protection that He pours out to us. God's three Highest Holy Days are Passover (God delivering His people from bondage into salvation; Jesus, death, burial, and resurrection), Pentecost (the giving of the God's Word; the giving of the Holy Spirit), and the Festival of Tabernacles (God's leading with provision and protection in the wilderness; Jesus' birth on this earth). These 3 at least should be a hallmark in the lives of believers in Christ Jesus our Lord in addition to our weekly Sabbath! And not to forget the others: the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Festival of Dedication - which are all Biblical and honor the Lord God Almighty! The Biblical Holy Days point to Jesus' first coming in human form on the earth and His second coming; and if not for the excitement and joy in celebration of these, we should be observing them at least for the purpose of honoring God and rehearsing for Christ's return! Let's put aside the ways of the world, and that includes man-made church tradition and secular waves of popularity, that go against God's Word or that have nothing to do with giving Him all the honor and glory!

We are the Temple

2006-10-20T08:45:00.001-05:00

Why do most churches meet at the same time on Sunday morning?!?!?
Ok - that's more of a rhetorical question that I completely understand the answer to - and I guess I'm ranting over nothing here - but it gets me SOOOO frustrated. Not only are people forced to wait a whole week to visit a new church when they are looking for a home church, but each weekend only gets one service (only a couple hours long), because most church's main event seem to all meet at the same time. Do you know how much time people would save if churches all spaced out their services at all different times?!?! I could hit 6 churches a weekend and 5 more in the evenings in one 7 day week. I'd be done looking at all my possibilities in a few weeks tops! I could gather together with God's people constantly!! If you go to one church with good teaching and crappy worship (and you know what I mean by "crappy" worship - not worshipping in Spirit and Truth), you could just grab a quick lunch and make it in time for church number 2, which has crappy teaching (you know what I mean by "crappy" teaching - not teaching God's Word as taught by the Holy Spirit) and awesome worship, and by the end of the day, you'd actually get fed with a well balanced meal practically in one sitting - metaphorically speaking of course.

Even when I was a member of a church, all my life - I never understood why we all had to go a whole week without having worship again (not a service... the worship). Worship should be an everyday thing, but let's face it - how many people worship God every day like they do in corporate worship?? How many people have the time (or make the time) or are dedicated enough to set aside an hour, turning off the world - cell phones, email, tv, family, friends - to sing, dance, bow down, or lift up hands to God with all their might - praising and worshipping God focusing only on Him every day of the week? I'm guessing not too many. If we can't even set aside an hour a day to worship God fully now, we're going to be playing catch up when we get to heaven! Jesus did away with animal sacrifices and offerings that cover sin, by being the once for all atoning sacrifice on the cross. But He didn't do away with heart sacrifices and offerings. Aren't we told "to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship" (Romans 12:1) and "Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." (Hebrews 13:15-16)?

About prayer... think about the prayer life of western believers today compared to the set times of prayer in Israel from the Jewish traditions in the Bible - 9 AM, Noon, and 3 PM were official hours of prayer - but especially 3 PM. The temple was open and active every day and people would stop working and go to the temple to pray at 3 PM every day. Do we, in this time and culture, stop in the middle of work to pray for an hour? Do the majority of us even take an hour at anytime of the day to pray everyday? I know I certainly don't - not every day. A lot of us can't even fill up 20 minutes of intimate conversation with our Lord and Father yet we are told to "pray without ceasing" (I Thessalonians 5:17) and "With all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18).The Jewish historical tradition of three hours for prayer a day is even lacking in light of these verses.

And what about God's Word? The Sabbath was used as a one day a week time to gather to read God's Word and be taught by those who studied it. But after believers received the Holy Spirit, the church gathered to read it, be taught it by the Holy Spirit, and be used by the Holy Spirit to teach each other and speak God's continued Word to each other. Some searched and studied Scripture daily! (Acts 17:11-12) These people were diligent and passionate about getting all of God's truth into them, and making sure they were obeying it according to His will. Even when God's people in patches got off - they were corrected and led back by those who were still following God's heart. It is clear that we are also meant to read, meditate, and learn God's Word every day, because Jesus is the Word of God, the Bread of life, the Manna from heaven that doesn't carry over for many days - but must be gathered and eaten fresh every day (John 1:1-5, 14; 6:31-58). This is why Jesus instructed us to pray "Give us each day our daily bread" (Luke 11:3). God's written Word is a manifestation of God's Living Word, Jesus. It holds the truth of God which can only be unlocked by Himself personally into our hearts and minds by the Holy Spirit. This is a huge chunk of how we can live out a personal relationship with Christ, and stay rooted firm in Him - by knowing, believing, and living the Word of God by His life and power in us. We are taught to "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the Word of truth." (II Timothy 2:15) and "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another..." (Colossians 3:16).

The Lord's Supper, ministry using the gifts of the Holy Spirit to one another, baptizing those born-again, fellowshipping in brotherhood and sisterhood in the family of God - providing for, supporting and encouraging one another - loving one another... this is the life of the Body of Christ Jesus our Lord. It's no wonder that the Church is stuck in a powerless state, unable to preach the gospel of Jesus like we are meant to (we preach a religion, a mental acceptance of facts from long ago that comes with heart but no hands, or hands but no heart, or human heart and hands without the Holy Spirit's power to enable God's heart and hands through us) - it's not the gospel of Christ that the early church preached, evidenced with signs and wonders, that demanded a radical lifestyle change), and seeing few touches of God on this earth. We can't even get our individual lives together, and our corporate lives only meet one or two times a week - for organized pieces to the puzzle, but rarely having all the pieces needed at once. How starved we are as branches on the Vine, coming together with Christ and His Body just often enough to survive, but not often enough to thrive. Don't we understand that we are God's Temple? Individually - we hold in ourselves God's Presence that we can fellowship with and get our Life from, and corporately, that Life in others can be released into us in ways we don't have ourselves. We ought to be seeking to give out to others what God pours into us daily - we ought to be seeking to give back to God what He's poured into us to give Him daily! (Acts 2:42-47) We need to be prepared and stay in season to do the works that Jesus did (John 14:12-17). It's time the rest of our lives (family, work, fun, even rest) was fitted around our relationship to God and within God's family - and not the other way around (John 6:27)! Everything we do and say should be in the context of our serving and loving the Lord, in the continual Presence of God! We need to live and function as one living Body together as God's Temple every day!

I guess I said all that to say this... I wish I had the option of corporate worship 24/7. I guess I should just start with developing my own personal worship and fellowship with God on a 24/7 basis while I appreciate the interval times of getting together with God's family.

Between Classes

2006-10-04T10:08:00.000-05:00

I have just finished a final exam for one of my classes this past weekend, and now have a few days before I start my next class - and finally have a chance to post what God has been doing in me most recently. My last class was an in-depth study on the book of Acts. Usually in my classes, I find new discoveries that take me on a long tangent away from my class to dig deep into wherever the Spirit leads me. This past class didn't give me too many of these diversions, however, and I was left to straight up education. This made the class go faster for me, but also left me lacking something which caused me to look inward to see if I had been using the Bible studies for substitutes for simple relationship between myself and Christ. What I discovered is that God had dropped back so that I can pursue Him more, and not be satisfied with learning alone. How awesome of God to romance me in such a way, that I would miss Him and run after Him when He moves and I've not moved with Him!

So as I lay down my books for a few days, I pick up His Word and meditate on His voice speaking to my spirit. I look forward to slowing down to be in His Presence and simply talk with Him! It's been a long time since I've been on my knees in humble prayer before the Father! Praying - yes, of course, always, or I wouldn't be able to stand at all, but it's been a while since I took real time out of my day to stop doing anything, humbling myself before Him; body, soul, and spirit bowing before Him in worship and prayer. It's about time I get back to that! It's time to lay down worldiness in all it's forms, obvious or subtle, even benign, to seek God and live wholly for Him without distractions. Very appropiate timing I think. As the Feast of Trumpets has come and gone by last week, and the Day of Atonement a couple days ago, and we're now coming up on the Festival of Tabernacles, along with the celebration of Jesus' birth in the flesh! September/October is a holy season, packed full of Days of repentance, rememberance, and coming back to God, renewing our joy and reliance on Him and His salvation. Do all believers feel it too?

The Holy Spirit is moving and calling God's people into a loving relationship with Him - to be restored, healed, empowered, equipped, and resting in Him, allowing Him to work and live in and through us in the world! Nothing can happen without being connected, fixed tight to the Source of all life and power. It's more than my life I live for Him, it's His life - my life is His, bought by His blood - Jesus is my life! Forgive me Lord for letting "stuff" and "busy-ness" get in the way, forgive me for forgetting that I am wholly Yours and nothing of my own. Let me be brought in close where my focus and purpose for all I say and do is centered on You and You alone!

Fear & Reverence

2006-09-08T15:01:00.000-05:00

Fear:
1. A feeling of agitation and anxiety caused by the presence or imminence of danger, whether real or imaginary.
2. A feeling of disquiet, apprehension, or dread over impending danger, evil, pain, etc.
3. A reverential awe toward God.

I've been studying "fear" a lot lately. It seems to be a gripping condition in one form or another that takes hold at some point in nearly every human being. Sometimes fear is a good thing, in causing us to run from danger, or discontinue stupid moves in fear for the consequences. Mostly however, fear is seen as a bad thing: inner fear that cages a person from doing what they want; fear of fellow human beings; of what others think of us or what they can do to or take from us; phobias that prevail and rule our behavior for no apparent reason are annoying at best and require much therapy to cope with at worse, maybe even to our own detriment. Fear can be caused by real physical danger, or by the spirit of fear.

Believers universally are comforted and assured by the Scriptures: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear...." I John 4:18 (most drop off the second part of that verse when quoting it) and "For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but of power and love and self-discipline." II Timothy 1:7.

Based on these verses, it could be easy to jump to the conclusion that the concepts of love and fear are oxymoronic, if not opposites. But I wonder...
Perhaps the English word for "fear" should be broken into two separate words, one meaning the definitions 1. & 2. stated above, and 3. defining another word entirely - like "revere".

Revere:
1. A feeling or attitude of profound awe, respect, and often love
2. A feeling of deep heartfelt devotion and honor towards one that compels an outward manifestation of this feeling: to bow, to worship, to obey, to pay homage to, etc.
3. To recognize and esteem that which is holy or hollowed, full of power, and high in authority

When "fear" is defined as "revere", it and love seem to coincide quite well, especially as it refers to God. Does that mean that we are supposed to "revere" but not "fear" God?
What about verses like these?...
Jesus said, "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10:28

The word for "fear" in the original Greek is "phobos" (from where we get the word phobias from) and the word "yare'" in the Hebrew. Both hold a combination of meanings for the word:
1. to fear, to be terrified, to dread
2. reverence, respect (for authority, rank, dignity); to stand in awe (of power and goodness)

So, now we see the definitions lining back up into one word again. Fear.

Since fear includes an anxiety about impending doom, and since God is also our Judge, and since the consequences of sin is death - do we attribute this fear to God when it comes to our future punishment that awaits us when we stand before Him for all the evil we have done in our lifetime on earth? Do we apply this fear to God when it comes to natural consequences of sin that we may have to pay for or endure here on this earth?

"Oh that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear Me and keep all My commandments always, that it may be well with them and with their sons forever!" Deuteronomy 5:29
"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. Psalm 103:11

If the word "fear" means both a feeling of dread and terror as well as a profound awe, respect, and love for one great in honor, power, and authority simultanously - then we are called to fear God. How does that coexist with love when perfect love casts out fear? Maybe we should look again at that verse, I John 4:18, in context...
"Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also."
I John 4:15-21

According to this passage, when we abide in love (remain in God's love and act out of love to God and others), we have no punishment or judgement from God to fear. When we love, we are justified and have confidence that our love has no negitive consequences by God. This doesn't say we won't have negitive consequences here on this earth from others, but that we shouldn't fear those consquences because we have acted in love, and so God will not punish us. This does not say that to love God means we don't have to fear Him. It means we don't have to fear His judgement.

It used to be a prominent fad in the church to preach "hell fire and brimstone" messages to frighten people into accepting Christ and being saved. It was the trademark of evangelism for a really long time. Then a more recent fad in the church became focused on doing the exact opposite and preaching rather the love and grace of God to save, so that people would be grateful and fall in love with Jesus and be saved. People want to hear all about the grace today, without a hint that there's a hell, a judgement day, or consequences for sin. It's not in fashion these days to try to scare people into trusting Jesus, but there's still a balance missing - God certainly took a balanced approach in His Word and throughout history - presenting both to people. I suppose a person can't very well appreciate God's love and grace without understanding the extent of what they are being saved from. In that case, the fear of the Lord is the good kind of fear, that keeps us doing stupid and dangerous things that would bring negetive consequences on us.

So perhaps the middle ground is to preach "reverence". Reverence by definition implies and encompasses both love and fear. It brings fear when we understand and consider the vast power, justice, and holiness of God, and realize that He is the highest authority and sets the standards by which we must live by in order to live free of negitive consequences. It brings love when we understand and consider the vast mercy, grace, and compassion of God, and realize that He gave us His Son to live and die to pay the price for all our sin so that we could come to Him and live forever with Him. When we teach reverence for God - we proclaim a balanced God, not a wrathful God nor a lovey-dovey push-over God - but GOD... the great "I AM" Who is both love and holy, Who is equally just and compassionate. This is the Creator God of all Who we are to love and fear!

"... You shall love the Lord your GOD with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all you mind, and with all your strength." Mark 13:30

"I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!" Luke 12-4-5

Appearing Righteous

2006-09-02T05:07:00.000-05:00

I have been attending non-denominational churches for so long, that I have recently forgotten that there are some denominations who still error on the side of legalism in terms of righteousness. Here I am, suddenly wide awake at 5 AM (very abnormal for me) on the day I thrive on sleeping in, feeling like I ought to address this issue in post as a follow up to my last. Thanks to some great conversation with a fellow blogger in Christ, I was reminded how steep in religion some denominations are, and how badly that hurts those who are led by that religion rather than by Christ!

My husband grew up in one of these denominations, and even though he's been out of that religion for over 10 years, he's still tearing down walls of bondage in areas of his life today because of it. We have all heard about (or seen first hand) these types of churches - the kind that teach about "appearing" righteous. They try to control behavior and appearance rather than teaching Christ and caring about each person intimately knowing and loving Him. These churches have strict guidelines about dress and hair, as if God even cares about how we look on the outside ("...God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." I Samuel 16:7). They stress doing and saying the right thing, regardless if your heart is right or not. They push people into serving without even a hint of concern about how the people may be doing spiritually. They judge by fruit first - not by passion for Christ - but mostly they are just judging. In that atmosphere, people feel compelled to "behave" righteously according to the standards of the church in order to "appear" saved. This is exactly what Jesus fought hard against with the Pharisees. We simply cannot do righteousness without BEING righteous first. And we can only BE righteous through our connection and relationship with Jesus Christ in love - because of HIS righteousness.

Being in Christ is a love relationship, one of really fully knowing Him, all He has done for us, and loving Him with all we are in worship and overwhelming thankfulness. When our hearts are bursting with love for Him, we do righteousness because we want to - because we want to be more like Him and do what He says. We cannot earn His love for us, nor work ourselves into loving Him - and we certainly cannot expect to please Him out of our works without that heart relationship. In Christ, we are already made acceptable to God; God cannot love or accept us any more than He already does. Our salvation is based on all Christ did and accomplished on the cross and simply recieved by faith. (Mark 12:30; Hebrews 11:6; Romans 3:21-26; Colossians 2:9-14; I John 3:5; Titus 3:5-7; I Timothy 1:9; Ephesians 2:8-9)

Motivation is a tricky thing in the human heart - our carnal nature is selfish and tends to always try to put an ulterior self-promoting motive into everything we do for God. This is one of the reasons Jesus instructed us to do our acts of righteousness in secret, without being seen or viewed by others. "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven." Matthew 6:1. Jesus knew that "doing" righteousness without a heart of love for Him, and without an audience of ONE only, would cause the motivation of our hearts to be less than pure. When we are aware that others are watching (or judging) us by what they can see, we tend to focus on doing our righteousness in order to please them, or to compare ourselves to their righteousness (or lack there of), or to trust in our own works rather than what pours out of our hearts for love of Christ. When we do this type of false righteousness, it is works of the flesh, motivated by and done in the power of our fallen nature and human ability - and for it, we get our fleshly reward, with no eternal value. It puffs us up, it strokes our ego, and it makes others look up to us... but these are sins of pride, and we are never to allow others to look up to us, but rather we are to point to Jesus in all things! Also, we are to see as God sees, and not judge by mere appearances, but look to the inner being of our fellow human being. (Matthew 15:8-9; 23:6-12; Romans 8:1-8; 6:27; John 6:27; 7:24; Galatians 1:10; 6:3-4; Luke 17:7-10; I Corinthians 1:30-31; 10:31)

We can even deceive ourselves with works of the flesh. When we are taught that our works please God but those teachers de-emphasize or leave out completely the fact that what is critical before ever "doing" anything, we must first and foremost know and love God. This teaching causes us to become unbalanced and our works end up empty and done in vain. What those teachers mean is that our works please ourselves or other people, because only people look at appearances. (Galatians 5:1-6; Luke 11:39-44; Mark 7:6-8: Romans 16:18; I Corinthians 13:1-3; Philippians 3:2-3; I Timothy 4:1-5)

Back to being in Christ... when we come to know, trust, and love Jesus - and learn to walk in the Spirit and cultivate our relationship in Him, the more we want to read His Word, and give ourselves up to Him. The more we read of God's Word, pray and depend on His Spirit to lead and guide us, the more Jesus is able to not only dwell in our hearts, but live through us on the earth. As we learn and grow and obey out of our love and gratitude for Him, the more we are purified in our hearts, the more we see the eternal realm as reality (taking our eyes off the world and placing them on Him), the more our minds are transformed and we are conformed into His image. As we submit to Him, He does His work through us, through our voices, hands, and feet. We love as He loves, we care about what He cares about, and we do what He does. Just as Jesus only did as He saw the Father doing, spoke what the Father told Him to speak, and did nothing on His own - Jesus also calls us to this relationship with Him by His Spirit. Jesus pleased the Father because He always did what the Father told Him to do, but He did it out of His immense love and desire to please God intimately, not out of obligation, or out to please Himself or others. (Matthew 16:24-25; Luke 8:15; John 5:19-20, 30; 6:38; 12:49-50; 14:10-12; 15:9-10; Galatians 5:6; James 1:22-25)

We do not need others to tell us what is right and wrong, we will conform and grow into doing righteousness naturally as we grow in Christ and submit to His Word and Spirit. It is not our job to convict each other of sin and righteousness. However, we are on this earth for each other, to spur each other on to continue our life of submission and love to God - to continue to follow in Jesus' footprints as we started. Often we need more help when we first come to know Christ by others who are older in the faith, so as not to be a stumbling block to others. But certainly we need others to help us stay accountable to not take advantage or lightly the grace God extends to us so that we don't just sit back and ride out the rest of our lives as infants in Christ (infants that don't grow eventually die). People who are healthy in Christ grow... from the inside out. Let us remember to take on His yoke, because doing righteousness in Him is much easier than trying to do it in our own strength! Our job is to die to self and to grow closer and stay close to Christ Jesus personally - not just making room for Him in our lives, but giving Him our whole life. This is all we need to do, because He will do the rest! (I John 2:4-6, 27-29; John 16:7-11; Hebrews 10:24; I Thessalonians 4:1-2; 5:11, 14; Ephesians 4:14-16; I Peter 2:2, 16; Matthew 12:30; John 15:4, 9; Colossians 3:2-4; Galatians 2:20)

Related post: Righteousness

Righteousness

2006-08-28T08:11:00.000-05:00

Righteousness defined:
the act of being or doing what is right; completely just; morally upright; the opposite of sin; the character, quality, and actions of Jesus Christ.

Only God is right. We cannot BE righteous on our own. We have no absolute righteousness in ourselves. We were all born sinners, in a fallen world. We all have sinned and fall short. We all are limited in what we know and understand, we cannot see the outcome of our every decision, we cannot read each other’s minds, and therefore it is impossible for human beings to even DO righteousness consistently on our own power. Being "good" does not save us or make us right with God. So God had to make a way for us! Jesus Christ - Yeshua the Messiah - the Son of the Living God! (Romans 3:23; Psalm 14:1-3; Mark 7:21-23; I John 1:8-9; 3:10; Job15:14; Isaiah 53:6; John 3:16-18)

We do not deserve nor can we earn God's love or salvation. Salvation is a free gift from God to ALL people out of His immeasurable love for us! He sent us His Son. Jesus is and always has been righteous. He paid the price of our sins with His life and those who believe in Him and lay down their life to live for Him, live in His righteousness. He was raised from the dead and now lives on in this world through those who are His. We are forgiven and made righteous through Him! Jesus is our One Way to be acceptable and pleasing to God, in terms of being righteous. (Ephesians 2:1-10; 5:8-10; Colossians 1:13-14; 21-23; I John 1:8-9; Romans 3:22-24; Acts 10:34-43)

But for those who are in Christ, we are empowered to also DO righteousness! Salvation is a free gift, but conditional upon the fact that we are righteous AND do righteousness. Jesus takes care of who we are - those who accept the free gift of salvation, believe on His name and turn their lives over to Him become righteous - in right standing with God. Jesus even breaks us lose from the bondage of sin that keeps us from doing righteousness and gives us the Holy Spirit so that we are free in Him to do all that He did while on this earth. But it is us who has to walk this path of righteousness. We cannot "be" without "doing"! (James 2:14-26; John 14:15; Galatians 5:16-25; Romans 8:14-17; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 3:14-21)

To DO righteousness without BEING righteous = legalism
(self-righteousness, judgmentalism, empty and vain acts of good)
To BE righteous without DOING righteousness = indulgence and illusion (false-righteousness, sinful living, acting in the flesh)

We are called to both, to come into unity in ourselves, body soul and spirit. We are to know WHO we are in Christ and to LIVE out a life based on who we are. To "be" righteous without "doing" righteousness, reveals that we are not really who we claim to be. To base your life on the grace of God to cover your actions and attitudes is a lazy and deceived spiritual life, a dying life. We cannot trust in God's grace to cover our willful, selfish, or disobedient lifestyle any more than we can trust in our own abilities to work our way into Heaven. A covenant is two sided; both parties give up something to get something. Jesus gave up His innocent life to redeem us from sin - what are we giving up for Him? We are instructed to work out our salvation, to obey God's Word, to live according to the Spirit and to produce fruit. God's grace covers what we don't yet know while we learn, and allows us room to repent and correct our ongoing mistakes. He knows that we are only human, and that we need to time to develop and grow up into His perfect image, but to remain unchanged or stagnant, only bring spiritual deterioration and eventually death.(I John 2:3-6; Philippians 2:12-13; Jeremiah 7:23; Luke 6:46; Galatians 5:13-25; John 15:1-10; 9:41; Acts 17:30-31; I Corinthians 13:9-12; II Peter 3:9; Hebrews 12:7-11; Ephesians 4:15; I Peter 2:2-3)

In Christ Jesus, we are made righteous. We are reborn new creatures identified with His righteousness to God the Father! What awesome news, to be forgiven and free... free to love and serve Him as we were created to! Now we are to get to work! We have God's Word, and every bit of it educates us of God's character, will, and desires, it shows us plainly what is right. He has commissioned us to be His light and carry it out into the world so let us not slack off in: meeting with Him and learning from Him daily, gathering together in His name to encourage and challenge each other to keep growing up in Him strong, laying down our old life to take on more and more of His character and becoming more like the image of Christ daily, and going out doing what He did - allowing Him to continue doing His ministry through us!
Let us shine Jesus' righteousness through us!

See related post: Appearing Righteous

Camps

2006-08-19T22:25:00.000-05:00

I came across a sad thing this weekend, "Christian" bloggers speaking against Charismatics, lumping them all into a general pile with one or two public figures in that "camp" that may be off the mark. How hurtful. Don't they know that God is charismatic? God is Spirit, and the Giver of spiritual gifts for the Body of Christ, the Worker of signs and wonders for the unbeliever, the Healer and One Who casts out demons for our whole salvation (deliverance of body, soul, and spirit) and told us to do likewise. (John 4:24; Hebrews 2:3-4; I Corinthians 12:4-7; John 2:23; 14:12-15; Matthew 10:7-8; 28.16-20)

Valid onlookers could also bash evangelicals for their one or two public figures who have been also off the mark. There are those who go to extremes or fall into sin in every camp. The point is, we as believers in Christ should not have camps! We have one God: one Father, one Savior, one Holy Spirit, we have one written Word, and there is only one Body of Christ. What's the problem? Why can't we be one in Christ? Why are we rebelling against God's will and explaining away parts of God's Word? Are we not all reading the same Bible? Are we not all reading it and studying it led by the Holy Spirit, Who leads us into all truth? Are we not all laying down our human opinions and logic to learn from the One Who's ways are higher than our ways? Aren't we all just believing what God says and doing it?...

The answer is no. And what a heartbreaking answer it is too. If you are a believer - you ought to be in only one camp - the camp of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by no other name (no denomination, no affiliation, no category) should we claim but that of Christ! These labels are unholy. Jesus prayed for us to be one, and His purpose for His church was, yes, to go out and make disciples, but also to not leave new disciples infants, but to raise everyone up into maturity and unity of faith. As far as I'm concerned, there should not be many faiths in Christ! Denominations should be demolished. (I Corinthians 1:10-15; John 17:11; 20-23; Ephesians 4:11-16; Colossians 3:14-17) God's Word is not up for human interpretations, not to be translated through our inferior traditions, comfort, or understanding - and certainly not in ways so that we can control God or reduce Him to what we can handle. If we continue to ignore huge chunks of God's Word, and then look down on others who wish to obey it - we are as good as being last in the kingdom of God, and we lead others to that fate as well. (John 14:16-17; 15:26; 16:7-15: 17:17; Deuteronomy 12:32; Psalm 119; II Timothy 2.15; 3:16-17; Matthew 5:17-20)

Our divisiveness leads those young in the faith to doubt and be confused, those older in the faith to become prideful, and destroys our testimony to those still lost in the world. We are to love one another, and lay our lives down for one another in Christ! A house divided cannot stand, and is it any wonder that we have weak Christians in the church and are making very little impact on the world around us? This infighting has to stop! This sin of pride and arrogance over the handling of God's Word has got to end - and we must begin to cry out in humble repentance before God and our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ for our superiority attitudes! We must find a way to shed our systems of classification and come together in unity under the authority of God's entire Word to us, conforming to the image of Christ as one! (John 13:34-35; 15:12-17; I John 3:23-24; Matthew 12:25-30; Ephesians 5:21; Philippians 2:1-5)

Let us leave our man-made doctrines and traditions behind and embrace God's entire Word, likewise embracing all other believers in the name of the Lord Jesus! As Jesus prayed, "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me." (John 17:20-21), so I pray this over believers all over the world. I pray that walls of separatism and loftiness will tear down, and that the whole Word of God be raised up - and that we will all be united in the faith of Christ Jesus our Lord as one!

Worship

2006-08-14T11:29:00.000-05:00

The church I'm a member of has phenomenal worship! Full band with excellent musicians and vocalists who have an audience of ONE, who are there to lead by being led by the Holy Spirit - the freedom to dance, cry, raise your hands up high, kneel, and bow down, sing in tongues, with all different types of music building loud, or playing quietly to even all being completely silenced in awe, for as long as it goes - whatever, wherever the Spirit leads. It opens up room in people's hearts for healing and repentance and receiving from God as He pours out on those genuinely seeking His face and worshipping Him with all they are! Everyone fully engaged - men and women of all ages, and even children worshipping free and passionately! It's incredible to just stand there to observe the heart of love of God from nearly everyone in the room, much less to feel the powerful Presence of the Lord Himself as He is welcomed and adored there.

Recently in my search for a near-by Biblical church, I've been only worshipping daily alone in my home, and haven't found a worship service quite as passionate where I've been visiting (you know the services... where half the people are worshipping while a quarter are uncomfortable to worship God openly and another quarter is bored to tears and thinking about the big game on tv after the service). Well, yesterday was my third time to visit one church in particular and I realized just how much power there is in corporate worship and how badly I've been missing it! I was so hungry for it that I was happy to at least get to worship with the half there who were truly worshipping wholeheartedly. It was amateur worship at best - it didn't last very long and it was sort of choppy with human interruptions every once in a while (not a spiritual flowing from following the Holy Spirit's lead but a formula with unnecessary breaks for announcements or "insert prayer here" moment and instructed standing and sitting). But even still, when Jesus was the focus in the worship leaders and in the majority of the people all at once - it was easy to feel the words we were singing and there was an emotionless experience of being rushed into the very Presence of God that made everything else vanish - even if it only lasted for a few moments at a time! It was a small taste of what I was used to in my regular church - but it was enough to remind me of what could be and how vital it is to submit to the Spirit of the Lord in worship when we come together in Jesus' name!

Now, you might be asking, "why are you looking for a new church when your regular one sounds so great?". And the reason is, that my husband and I couldn't get plugged in there. As great as the worship is - there are essentially no home groups, no places or positions open on the worship team (without crazy rotation - too many gifted people, not enough worship services), lots of leadership, but all the leadership also had other full-time occupations that prevented them from giving a big chunk of their time to raising up new leaders or providing opportunities to minister. There are lots of community ministries but those are also unavailable, again (too many people, all positions are already filled). Now that's great news for a church - to have too many volunteers that they have to turn people away... but that's bad for the people they have to turn away! This is when you are probably thinking the same thing I've been thinking for some time now... "why doesn't the church branch off and start a new church somewhere else, if there's that many gifted people, more than enough to spare?" Good question. Maybe not enough people want to split - they don't even seem to want to split up into holding more than one worship service, much less more than one church! So, since there is no room in the inn, I've been looking for a shelter somewhere else.

My husband and I have moved a lot in our years of marriage, and in a majority of the churches where we went, we've been involved on the worship team, even being blessed enough to lead worship in some places. The church that I've been visiting for the past three weeks, my husband has gone with me for the past two. It's the only non-denominational church in our area. There's room to get plugged in and to give from what God has given to us, so it looks like we might be willing to commit to this church for a long season, at least to cover me until God has me released fully into the one I begin. I hate committing to a local body of Christ just because there's no other church in opperation that's more Biblical in the area - but I can see that this church has the potential to become a very Biblical church as it continues! It certainly is of no use to sit around and complain about how things don't line up exactly whereas being willing to dive in and try to help make things become lined up in the long run is very useful. Who knows - maybe my husband and I can become involved in the worship team and contribute to those souls there in sincere worship, helping lead others by being led by the Holy Spirit! There's spiritual power in numbers, for prayer and in worship, and I look forward to seeing this church grow further in both!

Church Shopping Progression Leads to Resolve

2006-08-07T13:07:00.000-05:00

I've been in and out of churches a lot lately, trying to find a Biblical church. Do those really exist anymore? It's like looking for a needle in a haystack.

In church shopping, to check out churches by website is usually a good "step one" (I call this window shopping - you can see the goods, but you aren't really having contact with them). And to visit one of their services is a good "step two" (I call this browsing - you're in there with the goods see them upclose and to feel them out, but you're not really buying anything). To revisit to the point of being convinced to keep coming back regularly is a good "step three" (like taking a product off the rack and trying it on). You guessed it, becoming a "member" or dedicating yourself to that local body of believers would be the "final step" (buying). I have been in step three for a while at one church, while intermittingly been doing step two at other churches and constantly doing step one all the while. Why? Because even though I know no church is perfect, there should at least be one that's Biblical in my geographical reach!

When I say "Biblical", I don't just mean churches who hold to and do MOST of the Bible, or believe big chunks of the Bible, or back up their own doctrine with the Bible, or place Biblical terms over pagan practices - I mean the real authentic deal... an assembly of people who believe and do God's Word cover to cover. Like church was done between the time Christ lived on the earth and the church became a catholic institution. Where are those churches? I know there must be some out there!

This past weekend, I visited a Messianic church. To be honest, it didn't seem all that different from any other small non-denominational church - which sort of disappointed me. It had a lot of traditional gentile influences, like an order of worship (worship, prayer, message, offering, closing) and passing the offering plate. I may have just gone to the "gentile service" at the church, and there may be something radically different for non-visitors, however I was expecting (hoping for) more. It did have a few distinguishable differences and some great qualities, but I doubt I'll go back again unless it's for a Holy Day celebration. I also went to a Christian church this past weekend - it also left me wanting, but it's actually one of the only churches within my reasonable driving distance that's non-denominational. They also do a "passing of the plate" event, and there's a one-man minister in leadership, but there's lots of room for growth there - so if my husband likes it - we might end up there for a while. I was really looking for a place to submit myself to more spiritual authority... not in general, but to be mentored and trained in more diverse and in-depth ministries.

No matter where I go, I find that only the mega churches have a large leadership team, which is hard to fight through the crowd to get a lot of personal time with, and that the smaller churches have only one or two full-time ministers, and women ministers are even more rare in both situations. Since one-man isn't called to do it all, and one man is usually all a church gets, it's hard to find that one man who can show you how to counsel, take you with them as they visit prisons or hospitals, or evengelize, or show you how they pray for the sick or cast out demons or study God's Word and teach it to others, or how they pray or how they lead and serve their families. Most pastors don't want you that close to see it all to begin with, not to mention that most pastors can't possibly do all those things, much less for everyone in their church body and in their communities. So I look for churches with associate pastors, but these are also specialized. Where is the rest of the five-fold ministers?

Where are the churches that celebrate the festivals and meet for corporate worship on the true Sabbath? Where are the churches that meet in homes and use the gifts of the Spirit to minister to each other and learn God's Word? Where are the churches that hold God's Word and power to grow up strong and win the lost to Christ, to feed the poor and love those in need. I'm looking for the one church that does it all. If one church has even 50 adults in it, then that church should be doing it all - even if it's on a very small scale! Yet - people are not discovering their spiritual gifts, they are not taught the whole Word and raised up into leaders, they are not shown by example the practical uses of spiritual gifts by their elders and ministers, they are not held accountable to grow up past first grade for years and years so that the fruits of the Spirit are not cultivated in their lives, their faith is not built up, they are not trained in service or giving to those who have less, they are not taught spiritual warfare! It's an outrage that so many of God's people are left mere infants in the kingdom! There's a church on every street corner in the South, and not one of them is willing to be the body of Christ that Christ calls for!

I've been doing a lot of praying about this - in where to go now, over churches, over God's hand to reveal an authentic church for us. I know no church will be perfect this side of Jesus' return. I expect mistakes will be made, because Jesus chooses to work through human beings and human beings are prone to be faulty. But to not even try to break from paganistic Christianity and religion in order to fulfill God's Word seems beyond sad - it is damaging. A true reformation that completely returns the church to God's Word is long overdue! If there is not a local church within my driving distance that seeks to be what we are instructed to be, then I must start one! Someone should - and there's no point going on about what the church needs if I'm not willing to do something about it! If I know better, I ought to do better! God's been leading me in this direction for a long time anyway, and it's about time I got to it! I know what my calling is, and I know what God's purpose for me is. I know what God's Word says about His church and what His mission is on this earth - I can't just sit by any longer and look to the left and the right for someone else to take a stand! It's time I got ready and prepared for what lies ahead and to rest in God to make it happen!

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Related blog entries:
Church Shopping
Desperate Housewife or Not • Part I and Part II

The Five-Fold Ministry • Part 2

2006-07-28T10:53:00.000-05:00

Now that we have the spiritual authority line established, let's take an in-depth look at the Five-Fold Ministry and how it may be applied today.

Gifts can often overlap in callings, but there is a distinct difference between the gifts and the offices of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher.

Apostles...

Plant new churches or ministries

Receives vision and blueprint direction from God and builds
on that
Builds up foundation by setting structure, leadership and beliefs
in place
Anoints and empowers Elders with spiritual authority

Bring accountability & stability to established churches

Corrects, rebukes, encourages, inspires, and supports the Deacons and helps keep the Elders accountable
Refocuses & maintains purity of which the foundation was built on
Sees the big picture of the whole body and it’s many parts to fulfill it’s purpose, as well as makes sure that Five-Fold Ministry teams in each local church are in unity of faith and support

Defined:
The office of Apostle is the anointing and special ability "to assume and exercise helpful leadership over a number of churches in spiritual matters" or to lay down foundational work in new churches and then release it to other people according to their gifts, talents, and calling. But those with simply the spiritual gift of apostleship feel personally called to the expansion and healthy growth of the church. They love going first into the trenches of the new moves of God. They remain unattached to the people in general, but as they start new ministries, they personally hold love and accountability with those they pass the work torch of that ministry off to. The Bible calls many others, beyond the Twelve and Paul, apostles: James (Galatians 1:19), Barnabas (Acts 14:4, 14), Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25), Silas and Timothy (I Thessalonians 1:1, 2:6), Andronicas and Junia (Romans 16:7), and others (I Corinthians 15:5, 7; II Corinthians 8:23; 11:13). This gift is a leadership gift and is in continuing need today for the strengthening of churches and the establishment of new churches. This anointed office of Apostle is found in regional pastors, church planters, and mission starters. (I Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 2:20; 4:11)

Prophets...

Speak forth God’s Heart

Receives vision and direction from God for moving forward
Warns, Corrects, Inspires, and Encourages the people
Reveals hidden things or future events from God

Defined:
This gift gives the special ability "to receive and communicate an immediate message of God to His people with authority and urgency perceived by the hearers." Those with the gift of prophecy will often feel as though they have a direct word from God that will comfort, encourage, guide, warn, or rebuke specific people within the Body of Christ. Prophets have a great sense of urgency to their message. Unless paired with the gifts of exhortation or teaching, prophets will often not feel the need to explain their message, but will expect immediate response. The message of a prophet must always be tested in line with Scripture. Prophets would be wise to test their message against Scripture prior to delivering the message, and using Scriptural precedent in delivery of their message. People with this gift generally focus purely on the message or truth to be communicated, not necessarily on practical application or adequate understanding, and are unhindered by the emotional responses in the people they are relaying the message to. The anointed office of Prophet has this gift as well as the added responsibility of receiving messages for the whole church body in terms of direction, corporate sin, or specific key messages regularly to the Senior Leadership within the church. Those with this anointing are given added leadership gifts: they are generally concerned about evangelism, they have a desire speak strongly against evil in society or in the church, and they are responsible for being active in training others with this gift to be accurate in hearing from God and faithful and confident to speak the message forth. (Luke 7:26; Acts 15:32; 21:9-11; Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:10, 28; 14:3, 24-25, 29, 36-38; Ephesians 4:11-14)

Evangelists...

Win the lost to Christ

Preaches the Gospel of Christ
Has a heart to reach out to the un-saved
Uses human wisdom, history, personal testimony, or spiritual signs to share Christ with an unbeliever

Defined:
This gift gives the special ability "to readily share the gospel with unbelievers in such a way that men and women often become Jesus’ disciples and responsible members of the Body of Christ. While the task of evangelism is an important spiritual exercise that all Christians should be involved with, God gifts certain members with an ability to have unusual sensitivity to when someone is ready to accept Christ, and will generally have greater success in leading people to Christ than other Christians. The anointed office of Evangelist has this gift and the added responsibility of being active in training others to share their faith, as well as organizing group evangelism. (Acts 8:5-6, 26-40; Ephesians 4:11-14; II Timothy 4:5)

Pastors...

Shepherd the church body

Loves and nurtures as well as disciplines the people in their church
Protects from sin and false teachings
Provides the church with all the things they need to grow healthy and strong, physically, spiritually, & emotionally

Defined:
This gift gives the special ability "to assume a long-term personal responsibility for the welfare of a group of believers." In actuality, when a church has only one leader and that leader has this gift, their ability to continue sustained growth in their churches is greatly diminished, as they tend to require a certain level of interaction with every member of their congregation. Those with the gift of shepherding (pastoring) have a great need for long-term relationships. Shepherds will sacrificially give themselves to other people in such a way that they are built-up in their faith. Shepherds take personal responsibility for the successes and failures of those in the group that they invest themselves in. Those with this gift are usually nurturing, patient, and forgiving in nature. The anointed office of Shepherd / Pastor has this gift as well as the added responsibility of using that gift to shepherd leaders specifically and to keep a general watch over the whole church body as a whole. (John 10:1-18; Ephesians 4:11-14; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; 1 Peter 5:1-4)

Teachers...

Educate and train the church body

Teaches the founding blueprints and the beliefs set up by the Apostles – the Bible
Instructs the church on specific topics of spiritual life – real life here and now by the Book – the Bible
Makes sure people don’t just hear – but learn and remember God’s Word

Defined:
This gift gives the special ability "to communicate information relevant to the health and ministry of the Body and its members in such a way that others will learn." This gift is a communication gift. People with the gift of teaching enjoy studying the Bible and related materials in order to communicate what they have learned to other Christians. Those with this gift find it easy to organize vast amounts of information in such a way as to make it easy to communicate, understand, and remember. Those with this gift focus on bringing thorough or adequate understanding of the message or truth being communicated, not necessarily on how it impacts emotionally. The anointed office of Teacher has this gift, as well as the added responsibility to make sure the whole Body of Christ is getting accurate and complete information of God’s Truth. These are responsible for being active in training others with this gift to be diligent in study, detailed in organization, and faithful in teaching truth. (Matthew 7:28-29; 28:19-20; Acts 15:32; Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 12:10, 28; Ephesians 4:11-14)
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When the Five-Fold ministry is present and working together as a team in each local church, each doing their part in Christ's body, that church becomes a healthy growing life of Christ working on this earth. To have just one piece missing brings a handicap to Jesus' body in that area, and that church is left weak and vulnerable where it isn't covered. Christ's world wide church through each local church body has been hobbling along long enough. It's time to accept the gifts and callings the Holy Spirit rests on us, build up our character, behavior, and minds to the Word of God, deepen our intimacy with Christ, depend on His power and strength, and dive in head first into the work: Bringing in lost souls into the kingdom and giving out what God has poured into us to help them grow up to full maturity to where they can start leading others behind them! Then we can send the Five-Fold ministers out together to a new area to repeat the process, in each new place, until the world has not only heard the awesome news of God's love and salvation in Jesus, but also has a fighting chance to grow up strong and rooted firm in Christ - fulfilling their own purpose in the kingdom of God!

The Five-Fold Ministry • Part 1

2006-07-28T10:21:00.000-05:00

According to my personal study led by the Holy Spirit's teaching, it's fairly clear to me that God's Word gives detailed instruction about the structure meant to be in place within the church, the function of that structure, and the purpose of that structure - which is, spiritual authority, according to maturity and calling, in order to produce fruit. Jesus is the Head, the Source, and High Priest of the church (Ephesians 1:22-23; John 15:1-11; Colossians 1:18; Ephesians 5:23-24; Hebrews 2-9).

Under Christ Jesus are Elders, (overseers or presbytery) which should be a team of mature believers who are called and anointed to serve in the position of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, or teacher, often termed the Five-Fold Ministry. Elders are set up in each local church body by apostles, for the purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission in that area. Each one does their part to raise up believers to maturity, and they act as an accountability group among themselves, sharing the "vice-president" ranking within the church body equally. Together they protect, guide, train, teach, lead... basically, they equip the church for growth and ministry under the authority and guidance of Jesus through the Holy Spirit. They are servant leaders. (Ephesians 4:11-13; I Timothy 3:1-7; 5:17-19; Titus 1:5-9; 2:1-8; Acts 14:21-23; I Peter 5:1-4; Romans 16:3-10; I Corinthians 3:5-15) .

Under Elders are Deacons, who serve as assistants or understudies to the Elders - ministers who do hands-on ministry with the people in Christ. These would also be pastors or teachers, prophets or evangelists, or servers, helpers, care-givers under the guidance, accountability, and leadership of the Elders. These are servant ministers. They may be life long deacons or are practicing Elders. (I Corinthians 12:28; I Timothy 3:8-13; 4:6-16; Romans 16:1-2, 11-12; I Thessalonians 3:2)

Under Deacons are new converts and those young in the faith. Every believer is given a gift of the Spirit to use to benefit the whole body, but in learning to use those gifts and being placed in purposeful ministry first takes time of growing deep and secure in Christ. Fruits of the Spirit must be given time to strengthen and manifest, and knowledge and understanding of God's Word must be taught to them before they can be entrusted with ministry duties.(Hebrews 6:12-14; Romans 12:4-8; I Corinthians 12:4-12; 14; I Peter 2:1-2; Galatians 5:22-25)

When each level of spiritual authority reaches down and pulls up to their own level the ones directly under them, we are all brought to full maturity in Christ. Jesus does this with the level directly below Him (exampled in His ministry with the 3 disciples, Peter, James, and John), and with those in training (exampled in His ministry with the 12 disciples), and with each disciple (exampled by His ministry with all His followers) - all by means of the Holy Spirit today. But we are His body that He works through together as a whole, meant to be unified and doing His work on the earth. We are given each other, and each with different calls and giftings so that no one can do all the work alone. Elders should be in the business of raising up new leaders to support the growth and additions in the church, as well as leading the church under Christ's direction. When more elders are produced, apostles can send out new teams of Five-Fold Ministers to start up new churches in another area. This is the Biblical example we have for fulfilling God's purpose on this earth.
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See next post to continue..."The Five-Fold Ministry • Part 2"

Inspired!

2006-07-27T20:01:00.000-05:00

Upon recommendation of a friend, I got a hold of this DVD, The Vision of the Leader by Bruce Wilkinson - and wow! was I ever blown away! This guy put into words exactly what God's been doing in my life over the past 6 years and smacked me right in the face with plainly laying it out where there was no way for me to get around what God has been calling me to do!

Talk about being challenged to just swallow hard and do it! Based on Nehemiah, Wilkinson really brought out some stuff that I needed to hear - from learning how to recognize what is and isn't a call and vision from God - to discovering practical principles to apply to the vision once you know God has validated it. I think this was brought into my life at the perfect time. I can really see God's hand in this to get inspiration and confirmation to me now. I can also tell this is a real turning point for me in my life and spiritual journey and especially pertaining to what God has purposed for me to do! I've got a lot of praying to do.

I even went on and studied further in Nehemiah and continued to absorb leadership keys within a vision for once it gets moving - which was exciting! Not only do I see the hard work ahead, but I'm convinced the hard work is worth putting my best effort into and giving my last breath for! Only God knows what's ahead, but I'm determined to follow!

Church Shopping

2006-07-16T18:11:00.000-05:00

Over the past few months, I've been doing some church shopping in my surrounding area. I'm usually bothered with the idea of believers hopping from one church to another rather than committing and staying committed through thick and thin - because of the flakiness usually involved behind it: like the concept of jumping ship whenever things get heated in a church to a place to cool down in comfort - or to avoid growth and feed a social club status. Although I believe that this happens in way too many believers - I've come to a place in my own spiritual walk where I'm doing the very same thing, but for entirely different reasons.

When there are legitimate reasons for searching for a new church body to link in spirit and life with (like moving to a new area, or your church leadership begins taking over the church from Christ and chases after their own desires and leaves God behind), we all tend to look for churches that 1. teach what we agree with (or want to hear); 2. cater to our own personal style; 3. provide the ministries that will minister to us and our families; and 4. are within a rational driving distance from our homes. People choose a church like they choose a new dentist - recommendations, phone books, look online, and then attend a few times and research it to see it they have everything we are looking for. If the church passes all the tests, we commit and if not, we keep looking. Isn't that pretty much how it is in American churchianity? There's so many churches to choose from here, in all different shapes and sizes, colors and styles and prices - all we have to do is try them on one by one and see which one we like the best that fits.

These past few months have been very different for me, though. I've been researching churches while on the hunt for a church within my realistic driving distance that actually doesn't hold to any denominational doctrines or even necessarily agrees with what I believe... but rather - holds to the entire Word of God led by the Holy Spirit alone. A church that sets up it's administration according to Biblical teaching, with 5-fold ministers in overseer and deacon positions, all under the Head of Christ Jesus Himself. I've been looking for a church that actually ministers out to the community as well as the body ministering inward to the body - whether or not it ministers to me personally. A church that operates in Spirit and in Truth - that is growing up each new convert to be powerful ministers, and is a church entrusted with God's power to back up His name. I've been looking for a church that caters to Jesus' personality, not mine or any human's; and a church that doesn't have it's roots in Catholicism (a one man show with additional scheduled performing artists lined up for the audience - whoops I mean congregation - to either watch as inspirational entertainment, or participate in to feel apart of). I'm looking for a church that only has it's roots in Christ. For a church that doesn't "pass the plate" but simply has an offering box at the door; a church that doesn't rush through the Lord's Supper without pause for refection and self-examination first. For a church that worships free, ministers to the Lord, and seeks His honor and glory above all else. This church is very well described in God's Word - but hard to locate in the world-wide body of believers in America - much less in my area.

I know I am not the only one who can plainly see the extreme difference between what God's Word instructs, explains, and expects from true believers and what Christians are actually doing almost universally instead. It's got to be frustrating to more people than just myself. It's enough to bewilder the purest soul who loves God with all they are, not to mention the world outside the church! Instead, we have broken church up into camps and made God and His Word into our image, serving us rather than serving Him and His will! If we took one person who has never attended a church or has never even seen one on TV or heard of them, and then gave them the Word of God to learn and study and they became a mature believer and an expert in the Word, and then we sent them out on their own to start a church - I'll bet what they set up would look radically different from the majority of churches in America now, and surprisingly close to the image Christ draws of His body in the Bible! Is it so hard to break from the traditions of mankind in order to simply obey God's Word? We who know better - should be doing better. How odd that we have all these freedoms and choices in America, but very few believers use their freedom to choose to do church strictly by the Book, in total obedience to God's will - doing the work Jesus did when He was physically on the earth Himself. Somehow it's too much to ask church leaders to relinquish total control to Jesus alone through God's Word and Spirit, and do what He did. I know that there are true believers, at least a few, in just about every local church, and I know that there are entire churches out there who are living as the true body of Christ, but my own search has gotten more and more broad as the weeks go on, and still I've found only pieces of the true church scattered and hidden within separate and vastly different churches instead. We're forced to attend 4 or 5 different churches from across the board of denominations and Messianic congregations, just to experience all of God's Word within a community of believers. We aren't even supposed to have denominations as true believers - we are all supposed to be striving towards a unity of faith and purpose (John 17:20-23; Ephesians 4:10-16).But look how far we've gotten from God's Word and will. A local expression of the true church is hard to find, and if there's one in your neighborhood or city, you are very blessed.

Friendship to Win Souls?

2006-07-10T10:48:00.000-05:00

What is the line between befriending a lost person in order to win their soul for Christ and compromising our faith with the world?

Is the line where you find yourself being pulled into the world rather than pulling the one in the world out, or is that even too close?
Is it a matter of who is involved, their situation and calling, and their dedication level... or is it the same line for everyone? Are we even supposed to befriend those who reject Jesus, in the hopes that we can persuade them to one day change their mind?

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." Therefore, "Come out from their midst and be separate", says the Lord. "And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you. And I will be a Father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to Me," says the Lord Almighty.
II Corthinians 6-14-18

God's Word teaches us that friendship with the world is hatred toward God and that anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God (James 4:4-5). Does this refer simply to the "world system" or also to those who are worldly as well? Where does the line of tolerance end and purity begin? Where is the balance? Jesus taught us to love and pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44). Do our enemies only include those who are agressively evil against us, or are our enemies all who are trapped within the kingdom of darkness under Satan? God commanded that we make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). How are we to make disciples if we stay disassiociated from the lost?

Jesus associated with sinners, and gave His life up to save them, but He never compromised - He Himself never sinned, He showed them a better life and didn't participate with their sin, nor encouaged or supported their sin. He only taught what was right and wrong. He didn't chase down those who rejected Him to convince them, once they left Him, He moved on to minister to others. He only spoke to those who would hear and those who appoached and sought Him out. But He was approachable to sinners, and reached out to the lost and suffering people who were hungry (or at least open) to hear the truth. He walked among them, and didn't judge, but something about Him set Him apart from them - He came to them to proclaim truth and to minister to their needs... not excuse their behavior or tell them just what they wanted to hear, to stroke their consciouses so that they would listen to Him longer. Often, He offended some right away in order to weed out the ones who wanted to see signs and wonders from the ones who were serious about learning the truth.

Hate sin... love the sinner. Ok, but how far does that really go. A sinner isn't going to feel loved when all he or she does is based in sin and we are constantly criticizing or seemingly looking down on those sins. But to accept them as they are and their sinful behavior either downgrades our standards as believers, or confuses our own mindsets, slowly conforming our thinking to the image of the world in addition to the image of Christ. And to let them continue on a path that will lead them to destruction isn't exactly loving either. To what extent are we to go to convince others to believe in Christ? We can't control them or what they believe, and we certainly can't turn cold hearts warm, nor perform signs and wonders to prove God... only God can do that; and through us He does. Jesus gave His life in a series of planned events - life of ministry, death atonement for sin, resurrection for proof, instruction for His people, and then handed the torch over to His disciples. When we give our lives, do we plot out and give a lifetime of sacrificing to and debating with the same one over and over again for the purpose of talking them into turning their lives over to Christ? When do we stop wasting our time and move on? At what point is it that we stop sowing and walk away for maybe someone else to harvest? And for those who know the truth already and live in selfish illusion anyway, are these the ones we let go of completely and at what point? What if they are close family members? What a fine line to walk! Maybe this is where it is so important to be faithful in prayer and sensitive to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

I have one family member in particular, who flat out rejects Christ in order to be his own god and do whatever he wants and thinks is best. Do I reach out in friendship to him and accept all that he does in order to create a trust and love between us, so that my words of testimony and good news of Christ might make a dent in his hardened heart eventually? Or do I leave him to his worldly friends and influences and hold tight to not associating with sin? Aren't we supposed to look different - have something better that attracts the lost to the light of Christ? Is it our ability to relate and our embracing nature, rather than our holier-than-thou persona... that attracts them, or the simple and honest truth of God's Word?

There was a popular book in circulation a few years back that instructed believers on witnessing by living the lifestyle of Christ in front of non-believers, and to expect it to take a lifetime of consistantcy before you may or may not see the fruit. I agree that believers should live the life of Christ both openly and boldly as well as in private, at all times, but I don't think that qualifies as witnessing - I think it only validates your witness. When Jesus sent His disciples out to witness, He gave them a point by point stategy, of preaching the Gospel, calling people to repent, with power: healing the sick and casting out demons - and for those that reject the message, the disciples were to leave them and shake the dust off thier shoes in protest against them (Mark 6:7-13; Luke 10:1-12). Do we lack power when we go out in Jesus' name, and so must resort to lesser strategies in the flesh, like compromise? And then we see Paul becoming like the lawless, in order to win the lawless to Christ in I Corinthians 9:19-23. Do we lack the self-control to go under cover in the kingdom of darkness to smuggle a few out into the light without falling into temptation?

Not all are called to be evangelists, so do the rest of us simply leave the witnessing up to those called specifically for the task and, instead prepare ourselves to give an answer of our faith when asked - and to focus primarily on the other gifts and callings that we do have? Are all called to win souls, or are we all just called to know Jesus and our own reason for believing? It would sound odd if we all thought we had to administrators, or healers, or teachers, even when we aren't called to be so - but rather we would leave those ministries in the hands of those who were gifted and called to be those things in the body of Christ, wouldn't we? Perhaps we should be active in praying for God to raise up more evangelists in the everyday streets of America - and pray that they would be supported and followed by teachers of the Word to help strengthen and grow new converts in Christ - to be followed by mentors and pastors who will train them for service, keep them accountable and fed, and release them into ministry. When everyone is doing their part, then everyone is freed to be only what Christ has purposed for each to be and do in His kingdom!

I have concluded that the line is obvious... for me, in my situation with my family member, anyway. I will love and welcome him and be approachable, non-judgmental, but non-approving of his lifestyle of sin. If opportunity arises, I will follow the Holy Spirit's lead to speak what God instructs - but I will not enter a lifestyle of compromise myself in order to gain his trust. My first priority is to please God and remain pleasing to God. If God so chooses to send me into the darkness under cover to reach him, then I will obey, other wise, I will pray that God will send someone called and annointed for that ministry to reach out to him. It is not my place to pick up a position of service that God has not put me in, but rather it is my commission to pray. I've got to remember who I am in Christ, and allow Him to lead - His wisdom is best and far beyond any human reasoning! I trust Him!

Bible Study: Women In Church Leadership • Part 5

2006-06-24T17:11:00.002-05:00

Read about my personal journey that led me to this study:
" The Woman Sexist Against Women"

Correct doctrine found in God’s Word about women and men / husbands and wives...

Much prayer and research went into this Bible study. Even against my own tradition, upbringing, and opinion, the Lord God through His Spirit led me to this conclusion, and I am convinced it is His heart on the matter. God does not look at the appearance, but at the heart (I Samuel 16:7). We too must learn to stop limiting people by their flesh suits and free each to be what they were created to be in Christ!

• Men & Women in the body of Christ are equal. They are both “sons” of the living God and both can be qualified by God to become whatever He wills. Women are not, in general, subordinate nor superior to men in spiritual authority or church ministry as well as in all other areas of life, both men and women (even husbands and wives) have various individual strengths, gifts, and callings (Judges 2:16-18; 4 & 5; Romans 16; I Corinthians 1:11; 11:4-5; 12:18; Ephesians 4:11-13). God is an equal opportunity Employer - He is just and gives out giftings and callings and creates each of us with a purpose to fulfill in Him.

• Husbands & Wives, however, are unequal in spiritual authority in their home. Husbands are given a spiritual authority (only spiritual authority, not physical, legal or intellectual authority, nor superiority) over their own wives and children. A husband isn't a leader or ruler over his wife, like he is over his children, but he is to share management over the home with his wife. The spiritual authority appointed to husbands is for the purpose of adoring, protecting, romancing, and encouraging their wife, to lay their lives down for her, as Christ does for the Church. The spiritual authority a husband and father has in his home is not the role of priest, for all in Christ only has One High Priest and King – Jesus. But it is based in laying his life down for his family in prayer, responsibility, and love (Ephesians 5:23-28; Colossians 3:19). Wives are called to submit to that authority given to believing husbands in Christ. Wives are appointed and purposed to admire, respect, care for, and support their husbands (Ephesians 5:22-24; Colossians 3:18; Genesis 2:18). Both are purposed to love, serve, and give their bodies wholly to one another only, in unity (I Corinthians 7:3-5; I Peter 3:7:8; Genesis 2:24-25). The key is unity and love and serving one another. A marriage and family is an image that shows to the world Christ Jesus and His Church, of the Father's love and devotion to His children, and a children of obedience being blessed, protected, and provided for by their Father.

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This may be old hat teaching to some of you, and brand new to others. As time gets closer and closer to Christ's return, the church will merge into two distinct branches and only one will be the true Bride of Christ, who has grown up refined and into the perfect image of Christ, and has broken away from religion, the traditions of mankind, and the world system to follow after God's own heart. It isn't about what we want, or what makes us comfortable anymore - it's all about Him and bringing glory to His name! I pray that all believers in Christ will grow up to full maturity, freedom, and unity of faith and love. That we would make room for each other under His authority and grace to be what He designs us to be in His Body!

Bible Study: Women In Church Leadership • Part 4

2006-06-24T16:44:00.000-05:00

Read about my personal journey that led me to this study:
" The Woman Sexist Against Women"

The Three Mistranslations of Scripture corrected:
I Corinthians 11:3-12; 14:34-36 & I Timothy 2:11-15

I Corinthians 11:3-12
HISTORY: Although Greek is an extensive language, it was also based upon the culture. The Greek word for “man” was the same Greek word for “husband”, and the same goes for “woman” also being the same word for “wife”. This was termed this way because the concepts were the same for them during that time. A woman before she was married was called a virgin and after she was married she was called either a widow or, in a very bad situation, a divorced woman. This described the stages in a woman’s life as well as her identity. Men had different labels, they were referred to as young men, men, or older men, or sometimes called, sons, husbands, or fathers, to refer to the various stages in their life. Because it was so uncommon and unholy for a grown woman to not be married, it made perfect sense for them to use the same word for both. Differences in the meanings were made according to context in which the word was spoken only. The concept of “head covering” here is a matter of custom within marriage. Married women wore a long flowing cloth on their heads to cover their hair. In that day and age, women who shaved their heads completely were either worshippers in a sex cult or were prostitutes. Women who were not yet married did not wear a covering over their heads at all, showing their hair was an innocent form of flirting and revealing to the public that she was not yet married, as marriage was a sign of higher status for women. Widows wore a black covering on their heads. About men and head coverings – the customs of the day instructed men to wear their hair short and their beards trimmed, but only priests were to wear something on their heads in the temple while ministering. Even though this was the case, by the time Paul writes I Corinthians Jewish men had taken up the custom of wearing something on their heads while praying or worshipping in the temple, from the surrounding cultures who had similar customs.

POPULAR MISTRANSLATIONS:
“Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of every woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.” 1 Corinthians 11:3-12 (NIV)

Several small and innocent details are incorrect about the translation of this verse. One innocent mistake is the translators choice to interpret the words for “husbands” and “wives” as “men” and “women”, even though the entire chapter and surrounding chapters are about husbands and wives. The second common misinterpretation is for the word “head”. It is the right word, but the wrong meaning, this word for “head” is frequently confused with another Greek word for “Head”.

ORIGINAL MEANING: First of all, the main misleading translation goof is based on the fact that the Greek word for “head” can be translated several ways and there are more than one word for “head”. The Greek word used here means more than what we think of as “head”. In other places in Scripture, Christ is referred to as the “Head” of the church, using another word for “head” – connected to the meaning: the “highest leader”, the “highest authority” the “top”, or the “first”. But this word cannot be translated to mean that here. The word “head” means here: “source” or “origin”, like the term ”head waters” refers to the source spot of flowing rivers. This changes the meaning of the whole verse completely. Paul even backs up his statement with follow-up truths later in verses 8-12 that confirms this translation, as well as the fact that the whole of Scripture teaches this very concept from Genesis 1 & 2. So now let’s see that verse again with the correct translation so far:

“Now I want you to realize that the origin / source of every man is Christ, and the origin / source of every woman is man, and the origin / source of Christ is God.” 1 Corinthians 11:3

Now let’s look at the details: Besides the fact that the words for “man” could be translated “husband” and the word for “woman” could be translated “wife”, the plural and singular forms of these words should also be noted. In the first phrase, man not only refers to several men, but to all men or husbands because of the word “every”: “the origin of every man is Christ“. But the next phrase is singular, and an extra word is added that does not appear in the Greek: the word “every” - “the origin of the woman is the man”. This wording is referring to one woman and one man in particular, not men and women in general, nor husbands and wives in general. To go back to the “head” correction, Paul is speaking of a specific woman who’s origin was a specific man – of course he is speaking of Adam and Eve, who, not only were both made in the image of God, they were also the first marriage, but even more so, they were the ones who fell into sin and were cursed, it was to them that God spoke that the wife would be subject to her husband. Because women who were not married did not wear a cloth covering on their heads, this passage of Scripture clearly indicates that there is extra measure of propriety to be done within marriage and ministry. This does not at all instruct that women who are not married are unfit or not allowed to minister.

Here is an updated and re-examined translation of this passage in I Corinthians 11: 3
But I want you to understand that CHRIST is the origin / source of every man, and the man, Adam, was the origin / source of the woman, Eve, and GOD is the origin/ source of CHRIST. 4 Every husband who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head. 5 But every wife who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head, for she is one and the same as the woman whose head is shaved. 6 For if a wife does not cover her head, let her also have her hair cut off; but if it is disgraceful for a wife to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, let her cover her head. 7 For a husband ought not to have his head covered, since he is the image and glory of GOD; and also the wife is the glory of her husband. 8 For Adam did not originate from the woman, Eve, but the woman, Eve, from Adam; 9 for indeed Adam was not created for the woman's sake, but the woman for the man's sake. 10 Therefore the woman ought to have authority / freedom on her head, through God’s Servant. 11 However, in the LORD, neither is the woman independent of man, nor is the man independent of woman. 12 For as the woman originated from the man, so also the man has his birth through the woman; and all things originate from GOD.

APPLICATION TODAY: At first glance, most of 11:3-12 looks simply like a cultural dress code for being used by God and contemporary interpreters have resolved themselves to understanding this passage as a whole as instructions to dress modestly at church. But seeing how Paul book-ended this passage with the theme of “source” or “origin” tells us that the real spiritual truth of the matter has still been buried, and is in need of being dug out. Paul is actually restoring the equality of women and men and the honor to husbands and wives in ministry. To instruct men to not wear anything on their heads was important to note, because Paul was making sure they knew that there was only One Priest, and men or even husbands were not that role for themselves, for their wives, or for women in general. The punch line to the passage that makes it clear that it is not to be taken literally when reading it spiritually is the simple sentence that concludes it all in verse 13: Judge for yourselves - is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? Paul foresaw that the culture would change, and that the proper safeguards surrounding marriage and ministry would have to evolve. He knew that one day it would be proper for a wife to minister without covering her head, but this day was not there yet. To refer to Adam and Eve reminds the people that God commanded both Adam and Eve to rule over the earth equally, but when sin entered the equation, husbands ruled over their wives. But now because of God’s Servant, Jesus, Paul explains that women are freed from the curse, and that wives are restored to their proper place of honor beside their husbands in ministry. Paul’s very clarification of women and men and husbands and wives was held together by a key factor, that we all came from God, even Jesus, Who we came from, came from God.

See the next post to continue:
Bible Study: Women In Church Leadership • Part 5

Bible Study: Women In Church Leadership • Part 3

2006-06-24T16:02:00.001-05:00

Read about my personal journey that led me to this study:
" The Woman Sexist Against Women"

The Three Mistranslations of Scripture corrected:
I Corinthians 11:3-12; 14:34-36 & I Timothy 2:11-15

I Timothy 2:11-15
HISTORY: Ephesus at this time was a place of idolatrous paganism based upon, in part, a matriarchal society and entirely saturated with goddess worship. It was the religious myths believed by both the Romans and the Greeks of the day (although with slightly different versions and different names). The Gnostic heresy began with the false teaching that Eve was the First Virgin, the one who had no husband, and the originator of all life. She was the “Illuminator”, full of wisdom (given to her by the snake in the garden – through showing her the fruit of good and evil). This Eve saw her co-likeness lying flat on the earth and she commanded him to live. When Adam saw her, he said, “You will be called the mother of the living because you have given me life”. Eve “brought knowledge to Adam” when she shared with him the fruit. Therefore the followers of this Gnosticism believed that women bring knowledge to men, that women cannot be mistaken because they are all wise. The great mother goddess later became known as Artemis (to the Greeks) or Diana (to the Romans) and then became Diana of the Ephesians. Therefore, when the people there got converted to Christianity, some of them saw the similarities between what they’ve always believed with the new revelation of Jesus Christ and started incorporating the two beliefs together. Ephesus is where Mary was first called “the mother of God” – and so it is easy to understand how Mary worship started. This heresy also included a strong and powerful evil surrounding women – women were known to curse men to death, for example. The city itself was filled with temple prostitutes; the spirit of domination and seduction was wrapped up the their worship of the goddess Diana. From the religion, to the personal and family values, to the governing laws of Ephesus, the people of that city were slaves to the demonic spirits, twisting the truth by rewriting the Fall in the garden to make Satan (the snake) out to be God, the one who gave wisdom to Eve. Satan’s deceit perverted and accelerated the corruption of God’s design for holy relationships between men and women and between husbands and wives – as he was doing all over the known world at that time and still trying to do today.

POPULAR MISTRANSLATION:
“A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing-- if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety" 1 Timothy 2:11-15 NIV.

This section of Scripture had been translated to English through a cultural bias that has caused nothing less than bondage, division, and much confusion within the Body of Christ – not to mention has been a poor witness to the world. Even though one could teach correctly this part of I Timothy using less than perfect translations, many still choose not to, and wording used in these translations help to only serve those who wish certain things of God to remain in the dark. The trick word in particular is the Greek word authentein that was translated “authority”. But what we mean as authority today isn’t at all the meaning of this original word, but still, translators chose to use authority as the translated word. Another purposeful translation goof is the wording “A woman”, making the Scripture sound like a general rule to apply to any and all women. This is poor translation, compared to the context, the grammar, and the doctrines taught throughout the rest of the Bible. And then lastly, the original translators left out a word in verse 15, “the”. The Childbearing continues Paul’s theme in teaching the truth about the Fall of humans. God promised a Child in Genesis 3:15, “an Offspring” that would crush the enemy’s head. Paul’s wording points to a specific Childbearing and not to childbearing in general. Without that exact detail known, readers see that God’s redemption plan for women is conditional based on whether or not they have children. What a terrible contrast to the reality of God’s character! Let us study the heart of God on this matter . . .

ORIGINAL MEANING: First of all, we can make a pretty fair guess as to what Paul is answering in his letter here by looking at his earlier introduction in this book, I Timothy 1:3-7. Using both the cultural setting and the rest of the context, the passage of Scripture suggests that there were women - or one woman in particular – who was bringing Gnosticism into the church there at Ephesus. The woman was most likely promoting herself with highest honors, teaching it, and beating the men over the head with it. This was a major problem and needed to be addressed quickly and sternly. In Verse 12, the word for “authority” here at the time it was written meant more like the word for “domination” or “origin”. The word had a dark connotation to it – also meaning “to murder” and was connected to the idea of “sex & murder”. By 200 A.D., the word also held the meaning “to claim ownership of property”. Verse 12 could be better translated into English saying, “I am not allowing the woman, (or this woman) to teach or proclaim herself or preach women the originator(s) of men or as having domination over men.” This translation not only fits the context of I Timothy perfectly but also the context of the whole Bible. Paul then goes on in verses 13-15 to back up his statement, giving the reason for his statement, and correcting the Gnostic heresy. Paul is actually being very kind and restorative to this women, (remembering how Jesus had brought him out of false thinking and used him despite his past; vs.12-17) instructing that she simply stay quiet and learn the Truth of the One True God.

Here is an updated and re-examined translation of this passage in I Timothy 2: 11
The woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. 12 But I do not allow that woman to teach authority or exercise “authority” over a man, but to remain quiet. 13 For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. 14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into sin. 15 But the women there will be preserved / restored through the CHILDbearing- if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.

APPLICATION TODAY: The Word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12) and so we cannot dismiss, overlook, or ignore any part of Scripture – we must find the original meaning of God’s Words in order to correctly apply them. Looking in-depth at this Scripture, we can take to heart the fact that false doctrine is very serious, and anyone teaching it should be silenced. We can also learn that women in ministry positions need to always submit to the Body of Christ (Ephesians 5:21) and to the Holy Spirit (Romans 8; James 4:7), as well as do men in ministry. Neither gender is “above” the other, as Paul tries to explain here and in various other places (Galatians 3:28; I Corinthians 11:11-12). What we cannot do, is take these verses literally as popularly translated and use it to apply oppression or restriction on all women in ministry – that would be mishandling the Word of God. Another application that comes from this Scripture is that those who are teaching, preaching, or leading, must be well studied up first, regardless of gender. There are certain qualifications God expects out of leadership in the church, not just character qualifications, but also true knowledge of the Word of God interpreted correctly by listening to the voice of the Spirit as He leads us to Truth (John 16:13). Heavy price tags are attached to people in leadership who teach false doctrine, man-made traditions, or to place up stumbling blocks for other believers (James 3:1; Luke 11:52;17-1-2; Matthew 23:13-16) .

See the next post to continue:
Bible Study: Women In Church Leadership • Part 4

Bible Study: Women In Church Leadership • Part 2

2006-06-24T15:15:00.000-05:00

Read about my personal journey that led me to this study:
" The Woman Sexist Against Women"

The Three Mistranslations of Scripture corrected:
I Corinthians 11:3-12; 14:34-36 & I Timothy 2:11-15

I Corinthians 14:34-36
HISTORY: In Corinth, at the time I & II Corinthians were written, there were ungodly extremes going on in all directions concerning women, conceptions that were held by both men and women of that city based on their religion and culture. Views from: women being honored as sexual vessels only to worship or worship with; to women being thought of as little more than property; to women having full un-questioned rights to bring chaos, immorality, and loud screaming fits into worship.

POPULAR MISTRANSLATIONS:
• “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church. Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached?” 1 Corinthians 14:33-36 (NIV)

• “for God is not {a God} of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church. Was it from you that the word of God {first} went forth? Or has it come to you only?” 1 Corinthians 14:33-36 (NASU)

• “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church. Or did the word of God come originally from you? Or was it you only that it reached?” 1 Corinthians 14:33-36 (NKJ)

• “For He [Who is the source of their prophesying] is not a God of confusion and disorder but of peace and order. As [is the practice] in all the churches of saints (God’s people), the women should keep quiet in the churches, for they are not authorized to speak, but should take a secondary and subordinate place, just as the Law also says. [Gen. 3:16] But if there is anything they want to learn, they should ask their own husbands a home, for it is disgraceful for a woman to talk in church [for her to usurp and exercise authority over men in the church]. What! Did the word of the Lord originate with you [Corinthians], or has it reached only you? Or did the word of God come originally from you? Or was it you only that it reached?” 1 Corinthians 14:33-36 (AMP)

• “Remember that people who prophesy are in control of their spirit and can wait their turn. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace, as in all the other churches. Women should be silent during the church meetings. It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says. If they have any questions to ask, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is improper for women to speak in church meetings. Do you think that the knowledge of God's word begins and ends with you Corinthians? Well, you are mistaken!” 1 Corinthians 14:32-36 (NLT)

This section of Scripture had been radically mistranslated when converted to English through a cultural bias that has long been used to “keep women in their place” traditionally speaking – not at all spiritually speaking. Because the original Greek had no punctuation, translators must decide where and where not to place periods, commas, question marks, quotations, ect. into the passage in English. As you can see by the example Bible versions above, the translators often chose to place a period in the middle of verse 33, connecting the phrase “as in all the congregations of the saints” to the following statement in verse 34, “women should remain silent in the churches” (NIV & AMP). This alone changes the entire meaning of the Scriptures here, but it changes it to a meaning that does not agree with the rest of God’s Word. Another mistranslation is later on in verse 34, “They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says”. This sentence is misleading in several ways. There is actually no Law in the Old Testament Scriptures that says that women are not allowed to speak, or not to speak in church, or that women must be in submission under men in the church, which would be the first clue that the sentence is not translated correctly. Paul would not be quoting man-made traditions and call it Law, so, we must look further into what’s really being said here. And the third inaccurate translation is in verse 35, “it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church”. Here is a classic case of translators omitting quotation marks, when according to the context quotation marks are completely necessary to translate what was meant here to English. What do the Scriptures really say?

ORIGINAL MEANING: Using the context of chapter 14, and in light of Paul’s other writings about women and the Church, we get the idea that all of 14:27-26 are recommendations he is giving to this specific congregation in Corinth, addressing three issues that are causing havoc in that church at that time. Verse 34: “The women” Paul is referring to are probably converted women from the cult of Dionysus – which explains why he uses the particular wording he does while continuing his theme on order. Also, this explanation fits perfectly with Paul’s constant record of promoting women in leadership throughout all his writings and women in public ministry all through this same book (and specifically, chapter 11 – Paul would not go to all the trouble to tell the women “how” to pray and prophesy if they were not allowed to). It is clear, that there was a group of women who were bringing in their form of worship from their cult experience, which included no form of learning or growing, but instead was entirely made up of loud chaotic wailing and talking without submission to anyone or anything. Verses 35-36: Paul often writes in his letters responses to questions or concerns using a phrase or sentence from the original statement he is answering. In I Corinthians alone, Paul quotes many sources, including Old Testament Scripture (see one example in 1:19), the words of Jesus (see 11:24-25), proverbs of rabbinic origin (see one example in 4:6), words of unbelievers (see one example in 10:28) and believers (see one example is in 6:12-13) in Corinth as well as others. Paul is certainly quoting something that was said to him here, because of what he says immediately following, which was also left out from the New International version – Paul uses a small word at the beginning of verse 36 which literally means, “What?!” or “Nonsense!” or “By no means!” — indicating that he disagrees with the statement directly before, and is followed by the reason he disagrees. Just how much of that statement is a quote is a little less obvious. The most possible translation is to quote the last part of verse 35, ”for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church”. This is possibly a statement given to him by members of the Corinthian church who viewed women as second-class citizens stating that because of the culture, or perhaps it is a quote from the oral rabbinic laws that the church at Corinth was trying to apply towards the disrupting women in this situation. Either way, Paul then uses verse 36 to teach that the concept of it “being disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church” was ridiculous and incorrect. His wording takes the statement about women and turns it into a question. The question also did not seem to be comparing Corinthians to other people, but people who were women compared to people who were not, which only leaves men. Therefore Paul’s follow up sentence after his “Nonsense!” declaration is referring to the men there, not to Corinthians in general.

Here is an updated and re-examined translation of this passage in I Corinthians 14, beginning with verse 26:

26 What is the outcome then, brothers and sisters? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification: 27 If anyone speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn, and one must interpret; 28 but if there is no interpreter, they must keep silent in the church; and let them speak to them self and to GOD. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others pass judgment. 30 But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, the first one must keep quiet, listening. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted; 32 and prophets are to keep their spirits subject (to the Holy Spirit, and to the church); 33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints. 34 Those women there are to keep quiet, listening in the churches or church assemblies; for they not permitted to speak out, but are to submit themselves (to the HOLY SPIRIT of GOD, and to the church), just as the Law also says (2 Chronicles 30:8; Psalm37:7). 35 If they desire to learn anything more, let them ask their own husbands at home; “for it is improper for a woman to speak in church”? 36 Nonsense! Was it from you men that the word of GOD first went forth? Or has it come to the men only?

APPLICATION TODAY: Don’t let disorder occur in church meetings, from anyone of either gender or of any level of ministry — not from those who are spiritually gifted (verses 27-28), nor from those who are in leadership (verses 29-33), nor from new converts (verses 34-36). All must learn in quiet submission until they are ready to serve further. Church meetings must remain edifying to all present (verse 26).

See the next post to continue:
Bible Study: Women In Church Leadership • Part 3

Bible Study: Women In Church Leadership • Part 1

2006-06-24T11:08:00.000-05:00

Read about my personal journey that led me to this study:
" The Woman Sexist Against Women"

This issue is still a hot topic in much of the church community today even though thorough study of Scriptures clearly reveals God’s heart on the matter. Those whose pride or male ego get in the way, will teach and defend tradition over Scripture time and time again in modern times much like good-hearted white Christians would stand strong on their stance for slavery only 200 years ago in this country, using Scripture to back up their tradition and prejudice way of thinking. The truth of the matter is that God calls who He wills for whatever purpose He wills, regardless of their physical body. If Jesus were to reappear in physical form today in a church meeting today and heard a sermon against women in leadership, He would stand up and protest like He had to about rabbinical laws that the spiritual leaders were teaching that were based on God’s Laws, but without God’s Spirit. It is one thing to limit someone else’s spiritual authority based on sin, it is quite another to limit it based on what gender, race, or position a person is born.

The Bible noticeably teaches that women are used by God in leadership just as men are:
• Deborah in Judges 4 was a prophetess and the judge of Israel. She didn’t place herself there – God raised her up for that position, the highest spiritual authority position among His people at that time. How do we know God put her in that position? Because just a chapter and a half earlier, in 2:16-18, Scripture states that the Lord raised up the judges and was with the judges. So here is God placing a woman in a position of spiritual authority over men even as early as a few hundred years before Christ comes to bring freedom to all in Him.

• Jesus included women in His ministry. Although the twelve disciples were all young men, Jesus had many followers that comprised of mostly women who are referred to in connection with his closest twelve in Luke 8:1-3. Many times in the gospels, it is pointed out that there where a group of women who followed Jesus – they were the ones who stayed with Him while He hung on the cross, and they were with the group of disciples praying in the upper room in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit fell on them on the Day of Pentecost. So when Jesus sent seventy of His disciples out in pairs to do ministry and preach the gospel in Luke 10:1, it is hard to imagine that some of these disciples weren’t women. “The Lord gives the command; the women who proclaim the good news are a great host.” Psalms 68:11

• Paul talks of two women in Romans 16 specifically who are in significant ministry positions. In verses 1 & 2, he praises a woman named Phoebe, who he calls a deaconess, and then describes her as someone who has assisted many in ministry, himself included. The other woman in a significant ministry position was Junia in verse 7. In addition to being described by Paul as a relative of his and as a fellow prisoner, Junia is a woman also described as being an apostle.

• Paul often talked of a married couple, Priscilla and Aquilla who were equal in ministry. Paul spoke of them also in Romans 16 as having a home church as well as being Teachers. Pricilla was un-customly referred to first by Paul several times when her and her husband were mentioned, which tells us that in those cases, she was the primary minister.

• The Scripture passage of Ephesians 4:11-13 educates us that Jesus gives the 5-fold ministers to build up His Church. In the wording, we’re shown that these offices are not strictly male offices within the church body. The Greek words for “some” in the phrase “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers…”, is a word that includes both genders. Greek is a very extensive language. There is a Greek word for “some” that refers only to the masculine, as in “some men”, but the word used here was not this word – it was the word meaning “some men or women”.

• Also, when examining the Scriptures about elders/overseers in I Timothy 3:1-7, the terminology used, “husband of one wife” (v.2), implies that overseers must be men, but further study shows otherwise. In verse 1 where it states, “if any man…”, the word for “man” in the Greek is the word for “human being” or “one” or “person” that includes both genders. Again, there is a Greek word for “man” that means strictly “man” as in a male person, but the word used here is not that word. So in this case, why would Paul use the feminine inclusive word for “person” in one sentence and then state “the husband of one wife” in the next sentence? The answer is simple – even though the Greek language is much more extensive than English, there actually is no Greek word for “spouse” that would go either way. So, just as “he” is a generic default pronoun that is used in English when he/she is obnoxious to use over and over again, Paul defaults his instruction generically to “husband”. This makes perfect sense as, those who were reading Paul’s letter at the time would see the word for “person” beforehand and know immediately that he was referring to “any one” - male or female. Paul’s point in even mentioning marriage to one was that anyone in a church office must not be a polygamist, despite the culture around them.

Dark Church History Concerning Women
So if this is so obvious in Scripture, why do Bible teachers say otherwise? In a word, power. Church history reveals how the “one man ministry” evolved and allowed the Dark Ages to bring in an era of decline and corruption into the Church. When one person takes on a realm of undisputed spiritual authority, decline and corruption are bound to follow, and that’s exactly what happened in the church. The “one man ministry” became a breeding ground for power, control, and manipulation on all fronts. Just before the Dark Ages, around 400AD, the Greek philosophers were beginning to influence the established Church. While this influence was going on, one position of headship rose up that replaced Jesus – the Pope, who took up a “kingship” in Rome, claiming spiritual authority because he was the direct line from Peter, who Jesus built His church on. The position of overseers became Bishops who were under the Pope and over the individual offices of deacons, who became known as Priests in individual churches. Whenever the Pope himself made a change in doctrine, it trickled down the ranks and became law. God’s written Word was collected and translated into Latin and was proclaimed the Cannon – the standard, which could only be interpreted correctly by the Pope. That set the stage for error to infiltrate the body of Christ until it became tradition. What followed was a head first plunge into one of the longest stages of dark times within the history of God’s people. Many things became lost, not just freedom to women, and the light to evangelize the world went out. All it took was one or two Popes consecutively early on who were influenced by the secular philosophies of the time to not only put an end to women in leadership, but also to put an end to their freedom and equality in Christ in general. The Popes converted the philosophies about women into a Christian doctrine - “the Eve” doctrine, which was the belief that all women were Eve, simple-minded beings who bring evil into the world and are a curse to men. They were considered the weakness of man, beautiful to trap men and seduce them, only to lead them down the path of destruction. They believed women to be easily fooled by heresy and prone to fall into witchcraft.

"What is the difference whether it is in a wife or a mother, it is still Eve the temptress that we must beware of in any woman......I fail to see what use woman can be to man, if one excludes the function of bearing children." — St. Augustine of Hippo (354 to 430 AD)

Christ had come to break bondage, but the church listened to the world system and brought it back in. Now the church reflected the will of the enemy of God and not that of God. It only took a short while to lose what Jesus had paid so dearly to gain. This religious “law” against women leaders was a natural result of the enemy taking root in the hearts of men, and only displayed the attitude towards women that was prevalent everywhere in the world at that time – Satan taking back ground that had been lost to him because of Christ. Who could refute the “law”, no one could read God’s Word, and once the Pope had spoken, only a Pope could change the “law” now. Hundreds and hundreds of years go by, and women at best are treated as frail things that need taken care of. If any of these attitudes towards women seem familiar, it is because it is in our very heritage, the pride and superiority demons linger and are passed on from one generation to the next. Education was kept selective to promote the on-going attitude. Women were dependant on men for their spiritual well-being. And this bondage has been so deeply rooted into who the church is, that it will take all of our strength to pull out of it. Once God brought about the Protestant Restoration Movement, His Written Word was translated into the language of the common “man”. Still, more men could read than women. When these men translated the Bible, they did so through their cultural and human lenses. One of the men who originally translated the Bible from Latin to English for King James commented once that what he discovered in Scripture shocked him, he not only learned that women were equal to men, but that they could hold offices of spiritual authority! He thought the notion so absurd that he quickly changed the wording, because “it did not make sense that a woman should hold any authority over anyone except her infant children or her women slaves.” So today, we have Scripture that backs up cultural mindsets, instead of our minds and culture being changed by Scripture. Tradition has tainted the translation of God’s very Word regarding women.

See the next post to continue:
Bible Study: Women In Church Leadership • Part 2

The Woman Sexist Against Women

2006-06-24T10:12:00.000-05:00

My personal journey out of bondage from sexism.

Like most people in mainstream traditional churches, I was raised and taught to believe that women were not approved for church ministry or leadership by God - and the usual common verses were used (I Corinthians 11:3-12; 14:34-36; and I Timothy 2:11-15) - ones that I could easily read myself and get the same interpretation from, so it was a mental approval yet a constant inner disappointment and sadness, but something I had just accepted as laying down my life to God's design and will - therefore there wasn't an issue. With this understanding and growing attitude, it was difficult to respect my mother and especially her Biblical instruction. As I grew up into a young adult, I began to become unable to take my women Sunday School teachers seriously, I started shutting my ears to women peers' perspective on God's Word, and I wouldn't even read any books that were written by women, no matter how far their Bible education and ministry experience had taken them. Women leaders and speakers in churches made my skin crawl and I'd debate to the death with anyone who defended women in any form of spiritual authority. All the while, I studied the Bible on my own and was seeking more of God for what His purpose was in my life. Inside, a huge part of me hated being born a female, because even though I knew God loved all equally, I believed He had a special place for men that I could never be in. This attitude against women in spiritual authority was extremely damaging to myself, because I thought - "God can't use me", "I have nothing anyone could ever learn from" - and I thought all women are in the same boat. Inferior. I can study and show myself approved, and align my behavior with His Word, and have an intimate relationship with Jesus, but I can never please Him like a man can in ministering to others, and I had no desire, drive, or heart to minister to children. I reserved myself to doing menial service and good works for the kingdom and pursued a secular profession.

Then came the call.
See my prior blog entry "Desperate Housewife or Not • Part 1"
Torment, debate, confusion. Inner conflict insued and my rational jumped to fill the holes of human logic to justify what I was hearing. I submitted myself to only doing what God wanted me to do - however, I slowly began to shut out His voice in my heart as well, because it wasn't lining up with His Word. I thought, "surely this is my voice and inner pull, or the voice of the enemy trying to puff me up - because God would not conflict with His Word"!

I went on for some time, ignoring His Presence to study only the intellectual side of the Bible, I would pray, and then jump up and go on about my day without giving Him a chance to speak to me. I studied for knowledge and not understanding and determined to stay accountable to what I saw clearly in those three Scriptures and how they were taught to me. But it was a fight that was too strainious to keep up, and my starving my spirit to death made me once again run back to God to abandon myself and what I knew to His instruction and life.

I got married, and relied on my husband's spiritual authority and helping him do his ministry to fulfil my purpose and calling. But soon, my husband started branching off into his own ministry that was much different from where God was leading me and he started encouraging me to go do whatever God was telling me to do without him. Which was odd - and HARD! Without my husband, I didn't really think I could do anything. And God kept calling me - but I kept saying "I can't do anything now Lord, because my husband doesn't want to". And God kept saying - "I'm not calling him, I'm calling you".

Finally, one day when I was praying, I asked - "why would You call me if your Word says I can't?" And I heard God distinctly say "My Word says you can. Men say you can't." And God began revealing to me that I was more of a sexist against women that a lot of men were, and that it was breaking His heart. I was stunned, and really had to process. I was studying the book of John at the time and a new aspect of chapter 4 (Jesus and the Samaritan woman) jumped out at me. Jesus, in one radical move, tore down the walls of both sexism and racism just by speaking to this women, revealing God's attitude towards all people. If He wanted to reach Samaritians, He could have just gone on into the town, instead of stopping outside at the well. If He wanted to let the men be the ones to teach the women later, He would have not struck up the conversation with her, but again, would have gone into the town and preached to all. He did not go into the town, until after the woman had gone and witnessed of Him to the people in the town and they all came out to Him. Jesus was very purposeful with His actions. He knew full well what He was doing and the impact He made, specifically on His disciples. Jews hated Samaritans - there was thick racism between the two. Jews believed they were the favored people of God and superior to Samaritans. Men did not talk alone with women - men believed that they were favored of God and that women were less than them. Without knowing the full extent of those attitudes during those times and cultures, the weight of what Jesus did is still seen, but often overlooked or devalued today.

Within a week, I got sent two books from two different people about women in ministry - and I devoured them almost instantly and decided I had to see the proof for myself. (Books: Why Not Women? by Loren Cunningham & David Joel Hamilton, and 10 Lies the Church Tells Women by J. Lee Grady - both books written by men!). So I dug in deep to God's Word and discovered mistranslations, which blew my mind! Once I had finished the study - see next blog entries - a life-changing peace flooded in and a heavy weight was lifted off of me, so much so that I wanted to tell everyone what I had learned!

It took me years to adapt my own personal acceptance and self-esteem - and rewiring my mindset to this new freedom in Christ. Now, I totally believe God can use a woman do to anything He wants... it's just harder to actually be that woman! But God is leading me there - each step out of Egypt to His promise! He will fulfill the calling and purpose He has planting within me and as long as I'm pleasing Him, I don't care what the world and the religious think! I don't want glory, attention, power, or control, and I probably couldn't ever get myself to the other extreme of being a feminist - but I do want to honor God and let Him and His work flow through me so that Christ is lifted up for all to see! It is my passion to do the will of Him Who sent me and to give Him all the glory and bring forth fruit in His name! No man nor woman can accomplish anything eternal, it is only all God, in His leading, His wisdom, and His power through Jesus Christ working in and through us to the world!

I hope the following Bible study on Women in Church Leadership blesses you and brings freedom to you in Christ!

The Bible

2006-06-19T10:03:00.000-05:00

I have said it before, and I'll say it again. It is impossible to truly understand the Bible without the Holy Spirit. I just read a few testimonies of ex-Christians who for 1. went their whole life spoon-fed doctrine by their churches and didn't once read the Bible for themselves, and 2. when they finally did decide to pick up their Bible to see what it really said - did so reading it naturally, through human wisdom, and their own limited experiences. The conclusion.... confusion and offense. How tragic that a lack of understanding God's Word pushed them away from God.

The Word of God is our written authority by which we know and understand God and His ways, ourselves and our purpose, the world and what is to come. However, the Word of God from which the Spirit of God imparted to us - is spiritual - and therefore must be interpreted and taught to us by the Author Himself, Who is Spirit. God is the Highest Authority. He reveals the truth behind the words. God's Word is to be honored as an extension of God, but we cannot hope to truly understand it without His guidance. Especially when Gentiles try to understand God's Word when reading a translation in their language from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, there is a depth of meaning they will automatically miss. Different languages can carry unique meanings for the same wording translated. Our Bible scholars do the best they can to accurately convert either wording or meaning or both over into a modern and local language to be best understood by the masses - but even then it seems commentary is required.

Each of us is quite able to adequately read and understand God's Word if we are in Christ and led by the Spirit, despite the language barrier. It requires study, seeking to hear and submit to the Holy Spirit's teaching, and meditation on the truth revealed - but it's possible. In order to properly study, we need to do historical and cultural research, as well as understanding the intent of the original languages. Prayer is absolutely necessary - not only to seek the truth of Scripture, but also to truly listen to what the Holy Spirit says and have our hearts and minds open to receive what He says over what we may want Him to say.

I do understand that not everyone has the time to invest into in-depth Bible study - God certainly understood this and gave teachers and teaching gifts to the church, they are necessary in the Body of Christ. However, human teachers in general tend to pass along the learning they have received from human interpretation of God's Word, rather than directly from God. They also tend to leave stuff out - and don't cover or explain every corner of the Bible. Then the gapping holes become soft areas of attack from within and from the enemy in the hearts of those who come to know God from their teaching. The church is responsible for teaching, but the majority of churches have fallen to human error and have set up the local church as a one man show. The fivefold offices of overseers: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher are not found, so that the one pastor, or the one pastor and some associate pastors, have to do the jobs of all these offices - whether they are gifted and called to do so or not. Sometimes some churches are blessed to have a multi-talented and workaholic pastor who actually serves his or her congregation with several of these responsibilities in combination, much to the detriment of their families. However, that is not how it is intended to be. Most congregations do not have a pastor who teaches, or a teacher or pastors, much less does any of the other roles. When the job becomes too much, many pastors will preach only what they know well from long ago study, or what they consider applicable or beneficial for their church or situation. It becomes a lot of talking and not nearly enough doing; education quickly can become a method of control rather than imparting truth. In this case, every believer is left to read God's Word on their own. At the very least, pastors should teach their people how to correctly handle the Word of Truth, which would prevent a lot of the misunderstand and offense.

When we each pick up the Bible and start reading it without relying on the Holy Spirit, we will each reach our own conclusions and interpretations. We read out of it what we can reason in our minds or what we have experienced in our lives - we don't read out of it the truth. This is why we have division and denominations within the body of Christ. But God's Word is not up for human interpretation, it belongs to God alone to communicate His heart and will through it. If we are all taught Scripture by the Holy Spirit (directly or through believers who are taught by the Holy Spirit), we will all reach the same conclusions and interpretations, and a unity of faith is cultivated. When approaching God's Word, we must commit to tear down our own expectations, experiences, reason, and will, so that we can freely receive the Truth of God's Word from the Holy Spirit. It is our job to submit to the Holy Spirit, and not to conform God into our image through His Word. We are to conform to Him. It is not our place to judge, be offended, or explain away God's Word based on our experiences or lack of thereof, but rather to seek out the Truth of God, worship Him for it, and strive to line our lives up with that Truth!

Father's Day

2006-06-18T16:29:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of my dad and myself in 1995, about a year after I left home for college. A year later, I got married, moved around a couple states away, and have only seen my dad once, sometimes twice a year since then.

My dad has been one of the most impactful influences in my life. I grew up most like him rather than my mom - I inherited his sense of humor, his sense of integrity, his virtue in always striving to be better, and a lot of his looks. He spent real time with me when I was young, and gave great advice when I was a teen. He inspired me to be the best I could be, supported my dreams, and caught me when I stumbled and fell all over the place, hurting everyone in my path. He never gave up on me, and did all he could to teach me important lessons and prepare me for my life ahead. Sure, he wasn't perfect - no one is, but the world would be a better place if everyone had a dad like him. He has far more good qualities than bad. I feel blessed to have him as my dad! I appreciate and love him more than he'll ever know!
Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Seek God • First

2006-06-12T10:53:00.000-05:00

You know how life sort of overtakes you with busy-ness? Like you are always playing "catch up" and reacting to everything as it happens, rather than having the chance to plan it out and dive in first to make things happen? It's modern civilization that brings us all sorts of modern technology and easier living, yet it comes with the hefty price of schedules and appointments, bills and obligations that force us to constantly run as hard as we can to compete or keep up in order not to lose anything.

God has been teaching me a lot lately - about Himself and His kingdom. A couple weeks back, I took a spiritual retreat that had a strange impact on me. God spoke to my spirit and left my mind completely out of it. The results have been confusing, yet over the past few weeks, the Holy Spirit has revealed more and more to me, and I'm just now really beginning to understand. Normally, in my regular prayers, I'd pray for regular things, like provision, job promotion and blessing for my husband, health for those I knew needed it, salvation for those I knew needed that, blessing and peace for those who were unsettled or unhappy with something... stuff - but I never felt I was getting the results like how God's Word describes:

"This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him." I John 5:14-15

"And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." Matthew 21:22

"And Jesus answered saying to them, 'Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, "Be taken up and cast into the sea," and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.'" Mark 11:22-25

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." John 14:12-14

I knew God was hearing me, and I'd examine myself to make sure that I was praying according to His will, with faith, and with a pure and clean heart. Yet, I wasn't experiencing the promises. One elementary truth in God's kingdom is that every promise is conditional: "IF... THEN". So I began asking God what it was in me that was hindering His answers and power. Slowly, I started to see that even though I wasn't sinning and was free from sin in Christ, and even though I was praying according to His will - I became painfully aware that I wasn't completely obeying either. I was praying as I was living, under the principle of playing "catch up". If I got a headache, then I would pray for my health. If we were doing poorly in our finances, then I would pray for financial blessing... I was responding to the world (grant it - responding properly), but not obeying the Word (as in living above the circumstances so that I don't have to respond, rather, it responds to me).

Being a student of God's Word, and a disciple of Christ Jesus the Lord, Who is King over all heaven and earth - I knew that God's Laws come with blessings and curses, yet I lived as if they didn't exist because of my freedom in Christ and the gift of God's grace in the new covenant in Jesus. But all of God's Word is forever, and our freedom in Christ isn't a freedom to do things our way or an exempt pass from doing things we don't want to do, but rather it is a freedom to do all that God commands us to do in His Word. I had been praying backwards... I was praying for "all these things" instead of for Jesus' character and quality to be implanted, grown, developed and displayed in me, and instead of doing the Word and giving God all the glory, and forgetting all about what I needed.

So, I remembered things God had brought into my understanding that I still hadn't conformed to - like observing His Holy Days. I repented and dedicated myself to start observing them, and blessing poured out on me immediately. As soon as I shifted my mindset, I started seeing incredible results in my life! Sometimes it's not about keeping sin out of our lives, sometimes, it's about putting more of God and His instructions into our lives. After all, it is all about Him...

We are to live on this earth worshipping God and seeking Him and His ways, living to please and honor Him only. His Word is not meaningless, it is reality.

Often we ignore or misunderstand God's instructions because they are spiritual and not natural. We humans tend to gravitate towards what we can see or reason with our physical eyes and with our human intellect, but using those gifts will only push us away from God unless we submit them to the Holy Spirit of God to enlighten us to the truth. Whatever God teaches us in His Word, we must first, understand it the way God meant it by searching out the truth of it, and then by implimenting that truth into our lives and conforming to it, whether we naturally agree with it or not, whether we feel like it or not. We don't really have our own lives, we are either a child of God or a child of Satan - so while Satan has us running around with busy-ness, we are distracted from giving all we are and have to God and we miss out on the extent of His amazing promises. We must learn that to live, freely, abundantly, fulfilled and joyously, is to die to self, to deny our tendancy to believe the illusion of self-rulership and self-worship - that is, living to do want we want to do in this world for our own pleasure or honor.

At best, we are to love ourselves and all others equally and significantly less than we love God...

"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not look out for your own personal interests, but for the interests of others." Philippians 2:3-4

"... Love your fellow human being as yourself.'..." Mark 12:31

Spending time, energy, resources, and passion on the things that matter to God is a much lighter load to carry than to run in the rat-race of the world trying to keep what you have or trying to obtain more. And we are surprisingly protected and given more by God anyway for it. Our primary concern should be our relationship with God and our conformity of Jesus' character and lifestyle, so that we may represent Him as pure lights accurately in this dark world and prove God's glory and name the hightest above all! If we cannot truly represent His will and personality our lives in and out by our unwavering faith and obedience, then He will not grant us His power to misrepresent Him in the world. If we know God's Word, and believe it, we must live it out and let it manifest through us!

Marriage

2006-06-03T10:32:00.000-05:00

My recent anniversary has made me think about marriage a lot the past few days. What makes a marriage?

Marriage in my mind is a far different image than what my husband sees in his mind. I'm sure the concept is different for everybody - each having their own sets of expectations and dreams. Marriage is easy to define in a legal sense, and beautiful to define in the Biblical sense when you discover God's intent and purpose for it. But in a fallen, sinful world, and with everyone's baggage and damage, does marriage the way God ordained it even exist anymore?

My idea of marriage hasn't changed much through the years. When I picture it in my mind, it certainly does not look like what my parents have, or what TV and movie marriages look like - in fact, I've rarely seen it displayed in other married couples I know, although a few older Christian couples I have known have come close. I see a man and woman who are in a dating relationship living in the same house. It's an extremely sexual and evenly balanced relationship of give and take. I also see it as being a very spiritual relationship. I've always had the impression that God was the primary focus, the spouse is the secondary focus, and everything else falls under those two. Maybe this is a very female perspective, because I know that in general men find their identity from the work they do rather than from the God they serve and the wife that completes them. I have no idea what my husband idealizes marriage as now, but I do know that when we were first married - he had a traditional view of marriage, although not very strongly. So in his mind, he thought of marriage closer to the fifties style:... husband works and provides, wife takes care of the house and kids, and the two are life-long companions.

Companionship is important - but in my mind, anyone can be a companion... a close friend that hangs out with you a lot, a roommate, a dog or cat, a son or daughter, brother or sister, etc. Sex is what makes the relationship special or unique from all other relationships... the romance, the flirting, the touching, the erotic flare - this is the stuff that also helps make the relationship spiritual. Prayer and worship, fasting and giving, and dedicating finances, time and energy to seeking to please God as a couple is spiritual of course, but unity in soul and spirit without the body takes away from the bond a couple has with each other and that effects their relationship with God. It seems like the ideal marriage would be where you have one other person in the world to confide in and where you are allowed to be your worst while you strive to be your best. Having one person who sees the darkness in you, forgives it because God has, and helps you overcome it. The one other human in your life who sees you at your physical worst as well as your best: fat, ugly, sick, or whatever and still finds you the most attractive and desirable person ever; someone who always wants the best for you, not the easiest - and moves mountains and endures storms with you to help make it happen. I guess I get my vision of marriage from what the Bible describes and instructs. It seems like a pretty good set up to me, so I wonder why it's not the goal image for most people - even Christians?

Why do husbands jump to the conclusion that when the Bible says for husbands to lay down their lives for their wives, that they should work harder or more hours so that they can buy more stuff for their wives instead of spending less time and energy at work so that they can be with their wives more and maybe give them a backrub? Is it easier to labor your life away than to cultivate a exciting intimate relationship with your spouse? Isn't it simply loving yourself more than loving her when you keep your life busy with doing obligations or everything you want to do rather than include her in them or sacrifice some things in order to keep her a priority? And what about wives... when the Bible says to respect and submit to your husband, do you just think God is just teasing about that? Whenever I hear about wives who are controlling or manipulative - it just makes my skin crawl! And I can't stand hearing about women who use sex as a tool to punish or persuade their husbands. And then there's the ever classic wives who just aren't interested in sex or even touching their husbands, or displaying love in a sensual way. How hurtful. God created us to fulfill each other and to live an active sex life with our spouse - so active, that we're advised not to deprive each other except for mutually during times of fasting. The marriage covenant is based on laying down your natural tendencies to give to the other what they need to feel wanted, loved, accepted, and secure. To not give sexual love or intimacy on a regular basis, is to plant seeds of doubt and dislike in your spouse. Sex is a free marital gift - an open right for both parties - to use or deny sex for anything other than to benefit each other is using it for Satan's purposes.

People get married all the time, reciting a set of vows that they don't even pay attention to - enter into a holy, lifelong covenant with even legal consequences everyday... lightly. That amazes me to no end. I do understand that the contract is breakable... but I don't understand why Christians break it - because in order to break it, you have to do some serious sinning and down right rebelling. I feel sorry for Christians who honor God's ways in their marriage, but lose their marriage because their spouse did not. Divorce is a tragedy, and so is living in a marriage that is not pleasing to God, which is when we do marriage our way instead of His way. We ought to be loving our spouse the way they need loved, and giving them the best effort, not what's left over. Our marriage partner is a gift from God, and we ought to start treasuring that gift while we have them in this lifetime!

Anniversary Trip

2006-06-01T11:33:00.000-05:00

My husband and I went to Knoxville TN for our 10th wedding anniversary for a few days - stayed in a suite with an in-room jacuzzi and all! Very romantic! It was great to stop the world and just be with each other for a little while. And then on our last day, we took advantage of being that far east in Tennessee and went through the Smoky Mountains. It was beautiful - and my first time there actually. We had a really great time and will probably go back to the Smoky Mountains again!

Here are a few shots from up on top of the mountains as we drove through.

Upcoming Anniversary

2006-05-27T12:30:00.000-05:00

This coming Tuesday is my 10th year wedding anniversary! I can't hardly believe Barry and I have been married that long already. We're going out of town tomorrow for a few days to celebrate. It should be a real romantic get-away for the two of us, and I'm really excited about it! Ten years is a big deal, especially for us. There were many times when we both doubted we would last this long, but now - my husband is the love of my life, second only to Christ in my heart, and I can't imagine my life without him.

You know how people go through times of trial, suffering, or persecution as a refining tool God uses to mold us more into the image of Christ? For some it may be a physical weakness or sickness, or financial struggles or loss; for others it may be an addiction or sin they have to fight to over come; or for some, it may be flat out maltreatment they have to endure for the name of Jesus. For me... it's been marriage. My husband and I are just about polar opposites in everything - our backgrounds, our personalities, our dreams, our attractions, our interests, our callings, even our goals. For a majority of our marriage, we were hardly ever on the same page at the same time about anything and we drove each other crazy. We were horrible communicators with each other and had major intimacy issues. Beyond disappointment, it was a long period of continuous heartbreak. Over the years, the only thing we both really ever had was a commitment to our wedding vows that held us together. The first six or seven years in particular were so rough that I had to read and re-read Malachi 2:16 in God's Word "... I hate divorce," says the LORD, the God of Israel..." just about every day, pray and seek God's hand of mercy, and trust that He would intervene and bring unity and joy to my marriage. I believe in the three "A's" only being Godly justification for divorce: adultery, abuse, & abandonment. But none of these three were being committed in our marriage - therefore we made a promise for better and for worse and we were sticking to it no matter how miserable we were!

And now I'm so glad we stuck to it, because God did intervene. God is so faithful! For the past three or four years, our marriage has been getting better and better every day. Now I can boldly say that we have a really good marriage and I know that someday soon we'll have a great marriage, and eventually even one of the best marriages - because God is working in and through us as a couple everyday. I think of it as "iron sharpening iron" - God's way to sculpt us more into the image of Christ. The more we move closer to God, the more we will move closer together, and reflect His glory in our unity. The more we are committed to honoring Him, the more we are blessed with each other, despite the differences. It's been a long road to get us to where we are now - and I'm thankful for every bit of it - because through my husband, God has shaved a lot of junk off of me, and vice versa for him. We are totally different people now than when we were first married - and thank God for that! Marriage is work; it's a laying down your life to someone else, whether they deserve it or not, whether you feel like it or not - but the rewards that follow are so worth it!

My husband has grown so much in the past few years, as a man in Christ, and as a husband. He continues to grow and change, which impresses me the most. Not only has he become my best friend, but we are learning how to be true lovers as time goes by. This Tuesday marks a mile stone in our journey through life together. May it be only the beginning of a lifetime of milestones of growing closer together! To my husband:
I love you! Happy Anniversary Babe!

Spiritual Retreat

2006-05-20T13:41:00.000-05:00

This coming week I'm going on a spiritual retreat... while staying at home. My husband is going out of town - and I absolutely cannot wait to turn the house into a temple, with my own special prayer closet right in the center. We've been blessed with owning a house that's on over 2 acres of wooded land, with small rock cliffs and a running creek. It's perfect for being alone with God! I'm so excited about it!!

This is a picture of a small part of our front yard ↓
We've made a trail that goes down through the woods beginning at the driveway that leads down to the creek. Surrounded by nature on all sides, hearing the sound of the water as it flows over rocks, it's a great setting to worship God in His creation!

For inside - I've got candles and incense, and praise and worship mix CDs. I've even got wine and unleavened bread for a communion service. I know it'll only be myself and Jesus, but sometimes ritual can really usher you into the Presence of God when you do it purposefully. Sometimes you need to build a physical altar to focus your heart on your spiritual altar to the Lord. It'll also be refreshing to read and meditate on God's Word for a change rather than study and disect it, like I spend the majority of my time doing normally.

I'm especially looking forward to hearing from God. All month I've been feeling like I'm on the verge of something - like entering in to a deeper intimacy with God or hearing a clear directive. Even if nothing profound comes out of my days dedicated to seeking more of Him, at least it will be time well spent at the Lord's feet!

I used to have this habit of taking one day a month to pray and fast and worship God besides my regular every day prayer closet time - and it was incredibly focusing, it was very grounding in power and tuning in for keeping Jesus in front of me - realignment and/or conformation. But in the past few years - I have let that monthly God-time slip, and I've really been missing it. It's a hard habit to maintain when you are married and share the house with someone. Hopefully I can use this week as a re-initiation into that pattern.

God has been knocking into my head recently the dangerous way I've been creeping too close to the world - letting it work it's way into my heart. So this coming week will be a week without TV or email / internet, without clients, or the phone ringing - without my husband! I'm using it as a pure time of starving my fleshly desires and feeding my spirit soul! It's amazing how incredibly easy it is to hear God when you turn the world off - slow down the busy-ness and set time apart as holy on purpose! It's like I finally get that God is constantly talking to me, but I am just usually too distracted to hear Him. It's also amazing to see how much more easily prayer gets answered when I am undivided in my devotion to Him through dedicating hours and days to Him without a self-agenda or having to rush off to do this or that! The one lesson God keeps trying to teach me is that nothing that we do in this life for Him equals the time we spend with Him. The more time I spend in His Presence, the more effective I am in ministry - but that's not even the main incentive for me. For me, it's being near to God and making Him smile - that's the whole point. Having long, uninterupted quality time with God is SO important. I wish I had more opportunities to do that, but I'm at least glad I'll be able to take advantage of my time this coming week!

Sexuality Deterioration

2006-05-17T13:24:00.000-05:00

There has been serious regression in America pertaining to sexuality in the "normal" human condition recently. The majority of the world either does not recognize God or has Him confused with someone else - either way, modern society that is not IN CHRIST in general has removed themselves so far from God that human relationships are spinning wildly out of control becoming worthless and ruined.

The regression... sexual immorality: promiscuity, immodesty, and specifically homosexuality. This is where opinions will fly and people will quickly jump to a conservative or liberal stance, based on personal standing - Christian or not. Let me get this out of the way before I go further. I tend to be more liberal than conservative - in defining terms:
Liberal

a. Not limited to or by established, traditional, orthodox, or authoritarian attitudes, views, or dogmas; free from bigotry.
b. Favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress, and tolerant of all people regardless of their behavior; broad-minded.
c. Tending to give freely; generous; generous in amount
d. Not always strict or literal; approximate.
e. Favorable to the protection of civil liberties
f. Consenting with governmental policies that support a free economy.

But not liberal in the sense of:

a. Being archaic: Permissible or appropriate for a person to have the behavior of primitive humans or being animalistic; seeking self satisfaction to the detriment of self and others
b. Being obsolete: Morally unrestrained; licentious.
c. Tolerant of any and all behavior of people; to each their own
d. Not bound by ethical, moral, or humanitarian codes

I stand on the freedom that Christ brings, not what humanity's free-will has perverted freedom into being - a license to do anything, evil or not. God has given us His Laws - some are given to teach us a "best" way over a "good" way of life, and some are point blank "do's and don'ts" - "way of life" or "way of death" Laws that are not up for interpretation or debate. Homosexuality is one of those non-negotiable terms in God's Law. There's a reason for this Law - it goes against human nature as it was created to be. Yes - human nature has been poluted by sin, and therefore is in a debased state. But that doesn't mean we have to revel in that state, or become identified with that condition as "normal". We have an escape from our sinful nature in Christ Jesus! But those who reject Christ and find pleasure in their degenerate state are becoming the vast majority in this nation, and society as a whole is suffering for it.

For example - the male bond is being replaced with one extreme or the other - unnatural relationships (homosexuality) or estranged relationships (bravado and shallowness). There is no longer a place for true brotherhood among men. I agree with the statement made by Anthony Esolen (Professor of English - Providence College, RI) which paraphrased states that "the breakdown of natural sexuality in society is leading to the death of same-sex friendships". "For modern American men, friendship is no longer forged in the heat of battle, or in the dust of the plains as they drive their herds across half a continent, or in the choking air of a coalmine, ...most men no longer find themselves in situations that encourage straightforward male friendships. ...unnatural sexuality has nearly killed male friendship as devoted to anything beyond drinking and watching sports...." Women are also effected by the breakdown - women who are close friends are often mistakenly viewed as sexually involved, simply because of heartfelt emotions expressed towards one another in speech or actions. The other extreme is the unspoken rival competition between women evoked out of sexual comparison. Are we so confused of the sexual lines in society that we are afraid to imagine an intimate and dependant same gender relationship that is purely natural and unsexual? Is sexual energy so uncontroled that anyone and everyone becomes a prospective threat, and we must be isolated and totally self-reliant to protect ourselves?

Back to the male relationships - fathers are (and have been for a while) afraid to hold and be tender with their sons, and at the same time, those that do, tend to fail to teach their sons to be MEN and the result is often effeminate or gay men, if not lazy or fearful men. The Biblical image of the way men are supposed to be is Jesus. He was bold, a Man of action, self-sacrificing for others, yet tender and expressionate with people of both genders who were close to Him. He did not back away from duty or confrontation - He did not care what others thought of Him, yet He relied on the bonds of intimate human relationships around Him. He took care of those that were His responsibility, and He lifted them up to be all they could be. He was passionate and open, and opinionated (because He stated the Father's opinions - which were truths), yet He was also patient, understanding, and humble. Jesus went about doing the Father's will and pleasing Him. Where are the men that strive to be like Jesus today? To be fair, all people of God are to display these traits, and they aren't masculine characteristics per se. Both genders have a room for growth in the Body of Christ, for sure.

But Jesus was a balanced Man - He embraced close male friendship in brotherhood, which included honest emotional feelings, but they were not sexual, nor did Jesus connect intimacy in friendship with sexuality. Therefore He could seperate the two relationships and be true friends with both males and females alike without sexuality getting in the way. He lived out natural relationships the way God created human beings to be in relationship to each other.

Sexuality is a part of the human identity - but we were created to express our sexuality to only one other human being of the opposite sex (Genesis 2:24), or not at all (Matthew 19:10-11). It may be "liberated" behavior to flaunt your sexuality to everyone or anyone who is not your spouse, or to have more than one sexual partner, or for your sexual partner to be of the same sex... but this kind of liberation falls under the second definition of "Liberal" - and is a degraded human freedom to choose to do evil rather than expressing sexuality God's way. When sex becomes an acceptable and available option for anyone, anywhere, then every innocent and natural act becomes subject to reasonable suspicion. The more unnatural relationships get accepted and assimilated into society, the more distance and coldness will work it's way into natural relationships throughout society. How sad a state of world we live in now - and it's only going to get worse before it gets better. That means that it is just that much more important for believers to become seperate from the world and try not to let the depraved moral standard influence our thinking and drag us down with it!

Mother's Day

2006-05-14T08:46:00.000-05:00

This is one of the very few pictures I have of myself and my mother together and actually smiling. This was taken in 1995, about a year after I left home for college and had some recovery time away, so that we were actually starting to have a good time during visits and becoming friends.

Our mother-daughter relationship had been terrible for most of my life. It was a classic case of being two totally different people living in a very confined space together, with one similarity... stubborness - we made a horrible combination. We were nearly complete opposites in our personalities, theologies (both Christian), attitudes, and generations (she had me when she was 40 years old - so there was a definite generation gap growing up). My husband compares her to Ray's mom on the TV show "Everyone Loves Raymond" - only that mom character is not as extreme towards Debra as my mom is towards... well, everyone. It certainly didn't help that I was a difficult kid to her either. I didn't get saved until after I left home - so it was pretty much miserable for both of us until I was 18.

This past August, my mom suffered a heart attack, and immediately under went a quadruple heart by-pass surgery. She survived - not so gracefully, and in no time she was back to being her old mean self again. But before she was all healed up and just released from the hospital to recover at home, I went up and stayed with her and dad for about a month to help out. What a crazy paradox of emotions was that month for me - it impacted me for life! For the first five minutes I first saw her after her near death situation, I was overcome with compassion, concern, and more love for her than I can ever remember feeling ever, she looked so pitiful and in so much pain I would have done anything to ease her of it... and then she started talking - and then all love flew right out the window. For the rest of the month I was mostly there out of obligation, because she was my mother, and not because I wanted to help her to get better. It was that close proximity again - I know it was, it's like some sort of weird chemistry - two elements that should not ever be put together or a big destructive explosion would occur. The waves of emotion would come and go - one night in particular, I remember her needing something in the middle of the night, and as I was getting it for her, I felt so scared that she might actually die, and in the next minute she said something that rubbed me so far the wrong way that I was suddenly tempted to finish her off myself. The power my mother has over me is crazy. Only she can stir me up like that, and I suppose it's because I care.

Anyway, I'm very grateful that I still have her here on this earth with me this Mother's Day. For as much as she can get under my skin (as I'm sure is a universal motherly trait), she also has her good points. I love her very much and looking back, I am glad God created me under her stewardship. I certainly wouldn't be who I am today if I didn't have her to struggle with all those years! :) She's 70 years old now and I pray every day that God will give her at least 10 more healthy, happy years here before going Home to Him.

This goes out to all the mean, abusive mothers in the world - because maybe I'm the only one who will say it to you ... Happy Mother's Day! God knows you and loves you beyond words! He can use any evil or pain and and turn it around for good if we love Him and let Him.

Done

2006-05-12T10:00:00.000-05:00

I just finished my final exam today for one of the easiest classes I've ever had - no papers - no heavy assignments - and get this... the final was even open book!!! Praise God! I really needed a class like this. I feel like I've been falling behind (time-wise, not grade-wise) for so long. But I went through this class in record time and I'm feeling really good about it. This was my Systematic Theology class that I mentioned earlier - and it only really took me a little over a month to get through - not bad.

It was a great class for me and most of it wasn't even hum-drum, same ol' facts - it was quite inspiring and brought out fresh revelation to already well known truths! I resisted the temptation to go on study tangents that fascinated me quite frequently. Any class that gets you excited and tempted to dive in deeper than required is a good class!

Now I have a few days of lull before starting my next class. Hopefully I will enjoy it as much as I did this last class.

Praise God Moment !!!

2006-05-05T16:53:00.000-05:00

God is SO good!
How awesome He is!!

Words cannot express -
no emotion of love and devotion is strong enough to match His worth!

I was studying God's Word - and meditating on the constant effort God makes to not only save us from ourselves and sin, but to bring us into a close and passionate loving relationship with Himself! And the vastness of it overwhelmed me to being utterly stunned. All human beings are made so that we draw near to Him. Jesus said, "an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth." John 4:23-24. I realized that when God created human beings, He implanted within us His Spirit and His Truth. God's Law is written in us - we all know God's Law in our conscience - to a very basic degree, all of mankind knows right from wrong, whether we are taught officially or not. We feel guilt when we go against the moral code in our hearts. God also breathed His Spirit into us personally, giving us a spirit. We are the only created beings that were not simply spoke into existence. We have a connection to God through our spirits that make us very aware of eternal life. These two factors are internal proof of God and His desire to be near us. But then we have another external evidence of God and His goodness - this earth, the universe, and all of creation. It's beauty and complex design, it's every detail and it's physical provision for us is a material sign that God loves us, wants good things for us, and provides richly for us. There is no where we can turn without seeing God's incredible love for us through something! Even if we choose to deny what we see and feel, no matter how much we ignore and make up human logic to explain the evidences away - it is pointless to turn to lies rather than accept and be thankful for the truth, because the fact remains... God is God, and we are not - He is our Creator and we are His creation. He makes the standard by which we all must either live by, or declare ourselves "gods" and walk away from His light and love and into darkness and death. And then how greatly we are tormented by sin until we humble ourselves before God and worship Him again in spirit and in truth!

And to top it all off - God, our loving Father, sent a part of Himself into the physical earth so that we can all clearly see and understand Him - in His Son Jesus Christ, and even died so that we may live on in Him!! He tells us over and over in His Word His desire to dwell with us - even though we are weak and divided and pressured to forget Him on all sides. No matter the barriers we put up or fail to tear down between us and Him, He makes a way for us Him to be near us. Because of Jesus, we can come to Him and be completely freed from the bondage of sin - totally forgiven, healed, and made new!

God goes to immeasurable extents to prevent and rescue us from sin and seperation from Him! He makes it nearly impossible to turn from Him to our own ways - yet we succeed in doing just that on a daily basis, because we do not love Him as He loves us. Father forgive us our doubts and our choosing to believe lies over the truth! Father, thank You for Your love and patience and mercy! Cause me to walk in Your love, and to rejoice and revere You in that love. Let me never put my self before You Lord - not my will, but Yours be done!! In Jesus' name... Amen

Good vs. Evil

2006-04-28T11:41:00.000-05:00

You know that age old question, "If God is so good and loving, then why is there evil in the world?" Or how about the more personal form of this question, "Why do bad things happen to good people?"

God is the Supreme Being, the highest power. He is love, as well as pure and holy. He is spirit and truth. He is infinite, everywhere, and eternal. He is just and merciful. He is all-wise and all-knowing. He is good. Below Him are all lesser things - all things spiritually and physically created by Him. But God is not evil, nor did He create evil, so where did evil come from and why doesn't God stop it? Well, put simply...

Since God is good, all things that are not good, are not God.

Well, now you are thinking something like, "that doesn't make sense, because if God is everywhere and good, then evil shouldn't exist". Good point - so let me address that. God is everywhere in the fact that He is bigger than the universe. In reletive proportions, if the individual cells that are in your body could talk, they'd say that you are everywhere. I'm not suggesting that the all created things make up God, like our cells make up our physical bodies, but you get the point of the size ratio. Likewise, are you able to focus on what each cell in your body is doing, know where it is and if it's in danger? No. But if it were a comparable analogy to God - God would be able to.

God is spirit and not physical, therefore the physical world that He created is naturally separated from Him. But evil didn't exist until God created beings with the ability to rebell against Him. Creation has free-will and the power to make things, they can choose to reject God, and they can accidentally or purposefully sin. God doesn't want robots, He wants a loving relationship with His creation out of their own free choice. God doesn't move, so when we do, think, or say something that is not God-like, we're moving away from God and doing (making) evil. Natural disasters work in the same way, because this earth can be manipulated by spiritual beings. Spiritual beings that act opposed to God's will, make evil. We make evil by doing our will or the will of spiritual enemies of God instead of doing God's will - and doing that brings on evil consequences, simply because that action isn't God-like, so it isn't good. So the answer to "Why do bad things happen to good people?" is that there is no such thing as good people - there's only careful people or careless people - every human has at one point or another sinned and fallen short of pure goodness. Some people even make sinning a hobby, addiction, or life-long profession. Most people strive to "do" good as much as possible, in order to "be" good. But only God is good - and we can line our thinking, emotions, and behavior up with God as much as we want, but that still doesn't make us good - because sin is out there, we can't continually only do good 24 / 7 / 365 / 80+ years out of our own ability - it isn't humanly possible. So created beings make bad things happen by not doing things God's way.

The real question is, "why do good things happen to bad people?" God is just, and His justice is balanced by His mercy and patience. God is always active in the world and He brings both sunshine and rain to both the good-doers and the bad-doers alike, because He loves everyone and because no one, whether they do good or bad, is good or deserves good things to happen to them. So here's when you ask,"then why go to all the effort to do what is good?" and the reply is that God has set a day of Judgment when all the people of the earth will judged according to what they have done, said, and thought while on this earth.

Now you're probably thinking, "hey - that's not fair... if we can't possibly be totally good on our own - if we are incapable of thinking, feeling, speaking and acting 100% good, 100% of the time, then how can we be judged?" Good question. The answer is that we can be judged because God sent His only Son Jesus into the world, to live a life of example for us, to experience all the pain, sorrow, and suffering of human life contains, and to lay His life down for all of humanity's sin - to pay the death penalty for it. Then, after Jesus rose from the grave and after He ascended back up to the Father's right hand in heaven, God sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in the spirits of all who simply believe in Jesus and what He had done for us. This process is salvation, and we become identified in Christ - we rest in the work He did, and take on His righteousness, and then God can come near to us. We live by the Holy Spirit inside us Who not only guides us into all truth and knowledge of Jesus, but also enables us to "become" good. This process is called sanctification, when we become so much like Jesus that we look like Him in all we are. We are given God's Word and the Holy Spirit as tools and power for us to reflect Jesus' thoughts, will, emotions, desires, speech, and actions in ourselves. We are given Jesus' eternal blood sacrifice to cover and forgive our mistakes and accidental / habitual sin while we are learning to overcome.

To the knowledge that we know of Jesus - that is what we are held accountable for. If we accept Jesus and follow Him, we will be transformed into His image - and will become good - because of Him. If we choose to deny Jesus, then all our sin is left on us to bear alone. Since a majority of the world has rejected Christ, is rejecting Christ, or will reject Christ - there will always be evil running ramped on this earth, until the day when Jesus comes back.

Why doesn't God stop evil?.... He has and is. He gave His Son to us and then the Holy Spirit so that Jesus can stay with each believer always to continue to do His work in us and through us. Believers are the agents God uses in this world to stop evil. Believers are meant to be the light of God in a dark world. If evil still is, it's because believers aren't doing thier job of growing up in Christ and cooperating with Him in His work on this earth. Those of us who have accepted Christ Jesus and are being led by the Holy Spirit have the authority in Christ to resist evil (James 4:7), pray for protection against evil (Matthew 6:13), and fight evil (Ephesians 6:11-18) - we just have to learn how, and continue in it. We need to learn to apply God's Word to our lives, not only in spiritual areas, but in all areas, so that we will see the darkness flee from us wherever we go. We need to enforce the kingdom of God on the earth so that people can be freed from evil to come to God. When we know who we are in Christ, and carry His light with us, evil will not have a place to stay near us. Some believers are so used to being victims of evil for so long, that they don't realize that they are given the Spirit of God to take back what the enemy has stolen. I personally apologize to God, and those who are not in Christ who have been around me since I've come to Christ and been growing up in Him - I'm sorry for when I have slacked off and didn't take up my role and place in Christ as I've been called to. I commit to do better!

And ultimately, God is sovereign. He is in complete control and He works out everything evil, that we who love Him go through, for our good. He allows evil on a grand scale, so that we can be refined and matured. Character, integrity, and trust in God are things taught to us through struggle, trial, and suffering. To miss out on the tragedies is less painful, but also far less rewarding - and doing so causes us to not value as much the good we are also given in life. So even though created beings make evil, God uses it for His glory and for our good! Praise God Most High! Thank You Father for seeing all that I can't, and caring enough to prepare and train me now for what's ahead in Your purpose for me!

Being Perfect vs. Perfectionism

2006-04-19T09:10:00.000-05:00

I had a deep conversation with a great friend of mine last night that brought up some of my own weaknesses. I myself can tend to be a perfectionist - which is frustrating. The world simply isn't perfect, and human beings aren't GOD - so there's no way that they could ever be "perfect". It's a no win situation.

Humanity in general is always striving to better itself. Some individuals strive towards perfection. And God's Word instructs that we be perfect. But the simple fact that we can't see things from every angle and our bodies aren't made up of an ageless material or shaped in cookie-cutter exactness stops our endeavor short. How can we achieve perfection, or perform perfectly when life stacks imperfection on top of us at every turn? Some people simply don't strive for perfection, because they know it is an impossible task. Others try to be perfect only in the areas that show to others, and leave the inner, hidden stuff alone. Why would God's Word instruct us to become perfect, if we are unable to do so? Jesus said "... you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." in Matthew 5:48. And in the working towards perfection, is there a difference between becoming perfect and being a perfectionist? I think so. And the more I pray and study it, the more I understand the real and big difference.

By definition, a perfectionist is someone who has the inner drive to be displeased with anything that is not perfect or does not meet extremely high standards. Therefore, a perfectionist, is constantly unhappy with themselves, judges others who have not reached their level of perfection yet, gets extremely hurt and disappointed by people who make mistakes or who choose to do wrong when they are "supposed to be more perfect" than them, and seeks to control the things, people, or situations around them to conform them into a mold of perfection - getting agitated or stressed if things are not perfect. It's a character flaw and everybody's got character flaws. I'm not quite as bad as the general definition of a perfectionist describes. I admittingly control my stuff to a pretty strong degree - in a clean, organized, and displaying fashion. I feel most comfortable when I'm in a "perfect" environment. And I hold myself up to some pretty high standards... God's Word. However, it's been years since I've even given a second thought or judgment about how someone else chooses to live and act - and I HATE the idea of people controlling people, it makes my skin crawl. So, since perfectionism is a flaw, and being a spiritual perfectionist is being self-righteous (which is prideful and is both a very dangerous and deceptive attitude to have), we all need to continually weed that tendency out of who we are. God would probably be the only one Who could justly be a perfectionist, yet in many ways, He chooses not to be that way towards us.

When I think of the word "perfect" - I think of someone who makes no mistakes, is totally flawless, and excelling to the highest degree in all things; someone absolutely pure to the core. God falls into this category - and He alone! He is holy - which means, pure and set apart from unrighteousness. God's people are also called to be holy. But when God instructs us to be "perfect", the meaning of the word used is "to be finished, completed, to become fully mature; lacking nothing of moral or spiritual character". Now this definition seems a little more attainable. Being perfect is not another word for being flawless, or being infallible. Being right in God's Word means "to do well, to do good, to be fully good, to meet the Law's standards exactly". Only God is good, and we haven't the ability to be purely good at all times on our own. But through Jesus, we are viewed as a new creation... brand new creations that are righteous. And our growth process in Christ after we are born again, is lining up our behavior with who we are as a new creation. To God - our being perfect is the finished result of our conforming our thoughts, desires, words and actions to our new spiritual nature of being right in Christ. It has nothing to do with what we can acomplish or perform ourselves, only what we work with God to do inside us. It's about being unified in ourselves (and not divided or conflicted) so that we can display His beauty and holiness to others. God looks at our heart, and when we are in Christ, our Father sees us as completely innocent and righteous! He sees us as diamonds in the rough.

Since we all have junk and damage from our lives before we came to Christ, and continually from living in a corrupted world or from other believers who are infants in the Lord themselves, God gives us a growing process to refine us and mold us into the image of His Son. It's a work that He does in us, but only as we cooperate. It's called sanctification in the Bible, and it's a key aspect of our spiritual health and development. If we fight to keep the junk and damage, we will stay damaged, and trade God's awesome gifts for the junk. If we give up cooperating, we end up just as bad off, remaining distant so that our lack of faith in Him keeps Him from completing His work in us. We remain infants. It's work - like growing up naturally and going through school. But growing up to spiritual maturity is very possible - though, few believers actually think of it in those terms, nor actually achieve it. The vast majority are either on the "self-righteous" team, or on the "love the worldly ways and can get away with it because of grace" team. Both are wrong roads to take. The road in the middle (that will get us through the hard parts of school the quickest) is this:

• "... work out your salvation with reverence and serious earnestness; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." Philippians 2:12-13

• "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4

• "...in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." Ephesians 4:22-24

• "Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:1-2

• "If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." Galatians 5:7

• "He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all people, and sanctification without which no one will see the Lord." Hebrews 12:10-14

• "...discipline yourself for the purpose of reverence and holiness; for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come...for it is for this we labor and strive..." I Timothy 4:7-10

• "Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude." Colossians 2:6-7

• "By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, " I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His Word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked." I John 2:3-6

God is calling us to be perfect - to be complete and reach maturity in Christ. It doesn't mean that we won't make mistakes, but it does mean that we will make fewer mistakes, and deal with each mistake well and humbly as they come, and we will even grow from them. I want God to have His perfect work in me grow fruit, and mold me into a more accurate image of His Son daily! If I allow Him, and endure with faith and love, He will take this diamond out of the rough and hold it up so others can see His glory! His glory - because in myself, I have no glory, I'm just a lump of coal no matter how hard I try to be more. It's all for displaying God's glory to the world, so that they can all know Him through Christ Jesus - the Son of Righteousness for all!

Drummer Man

2006-04-15T22:21:00.000-05:00

My husband is a drummer. It's a big chunk of who he is. Even though he plays guitar really well, and writes awesome songs, he's happiest when he's drumming. It's part of what God created him for - which is so great! He's got a band, Dying Man - and it's evolving into how God wants it. I'm so proud of him and love hearing him drum and seeing him play live shows. It's like a whole other personality comes out when he's on stage - but it's one of the greatest parts of who he really is.

He just got a new kit this year, but doesn't really have a place to play them at our house. This weekend - we moved the dinning room around, and set up his kit there. Doesn't he look happy?!

I thought it would be obnoxious to have his drums set up in the middle of our dinning room. I've been really dreaming about our remodeling a part of our house to set up a studio for him - maybe that will happen soon. But anyway, it was actually really fun listening to him practice this weekend and even our usually overly sensitive cat didn't seem to mind too much.

I've always envied his sure purpose in life. He (and everyone around him) knew that he was meant to be a drummer since he was a small boy. Of course, my husband is a fountain of natural talent and intelligence and has lots of different hobbies and interests (some a little out of proportion... UK basketball), not to mention having an huge heart of compassion. But he's had a distinct calling and confidence within himself to his calling to be creative through music, and to use his music as a tool to minister and give glory to God. He has the ability to do just about anything he sets his mind and will to, yet he knows the one thing that God created him for and keeps it forefront without any doubt. Myself, on the other hand - I have far less natural abilities, am just as confident in my calling to a ministry itself, but cannot pinpoint my highest life's service to God, besides loving Him with all I am and doing His will moment by moment. My heart's desire is spread over so vast an area of ministries, that I couldn't even single out my own favorite, much less God's desire for me.

Whenever I get anxious about what I'm suppose to do, my husband is SO great!!! Very supportive - I could start a business, a church, a mission, write books, teach, counsel, start a worship band,... whatever, and he'd be 100% behind me and encouraging me all the way. He always points me back to just getting prepared for "whatever" - because whenever God gives me the purpose, I won't have time to get prepared then. Makes sense. God knows me - better than anyone. My husband is made in such a way that he has to hear from God, and then he needs time to adjust to it, and then commit, and then move - patiently and methodically getting himself physically, mentally, emotionally, or financially ready before he carries it out. God tells him his instructions far in advance just enough so that he will move at His right timing. Me... not so much. I'm like a restless racehorse waiting for the start gun to fire so I can burst out of the gate with reckless abandon. Even now, my extreme impatience keeps me distracted from even getting ready. Rather, I ought to be diligent and faithful in the place where I am and focus on pleasing Him while I grow and prepare for what He has in store for me. Praise God for His patience and mercy for me, and His supreme wisdom in dealing with me. And I thank God for my great husband He's blessed me with!!

The Sign of Jonah

2006-04-14T11:50:00.000-05:00

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You." But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as "Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale", so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here."
Matthew 12:38-42

For the Christian - there is no Easter. Easter is a pagan holiday, a spring holiday in honor of the goddess Istar. There isn't even a Good Friday... Jesus was crucified on a Thursday. The closest terminology Christians have for the single most significant event in human history (that happened to fill up three days) would be "the sign of Jonah". Jesus, the promised Messiah, and Holy Son of God, was crucified on a Thursday, and at sundown that Thursday evening, Passover (which was a high sabbath) began. Friday at sundown began the weekly Sabbath, and then on Sunday morning when it was still dark out, God raised Jesus from the dead - Resurrection Sunday. All of creation revolves around Christ's death, burial, and ressurection - this three day sign of Jonah - it's all about Jesus (whether we choose to acknowledge Him or not)!

Jesus lived a sinless and perfect life, so His death on the cross was the atoning sacrifice to pay for all the sins of the world; and by His torture and abuse, He took on all the suffering of the world as well. Because of God's free gift of grace to us through the act of Christ Jesus, we receive salvation simply by our faith and confession of Him. Salvation includes forgiveness of all sin, healing, restoration, and an eternal place in the kingdom and family of God. Jesus came humbly into this world, and gave Himself up to death for us, so that we might come to Him and have life as we were all meant to. He is our Savior and Lord! Praise and thanks unending to our Father and Lord God Almighty for the gift of His Son!!

Grafted Into Israel

2006-04-04T12:36:00.000-05:00

I just heard this amazing study on how Christians can actually trace our spiritual roots back to the Israelite tribe of Ephraim! Before Jacob (Israel) died, he blessed his sons, and just before that, he also blessed Joseph's two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, which became tribes of their own in Israel. The blessing for Ephraim included that his descendants would become a multitude of nations, greater than the descendants of his older brother, Manasseh (Genesis 48:8-20). The Hebrew meaning behind these words is that Ephraim's descendants would fill up or be made the fullness of the Gentile peoples throughout the earth. Later, after the northern tribes of Israel were exiled and carried off to other nations, God began teaching us His plan for bringing them back through the prophet Ezekiel. God instructed Ezekiel to take two sticks and label them. On one stick, Ezekiel was to write "For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions (or fellow worshippers)" and on the other stick, Ezekiel was to write "For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel, his companions (or fellow worshippers)". Then, Ezekiel was told to put both sticks in his hand, to join them together. God said that He will bring Israel back from all the places they were scattered all over the earth and bring them together with Judah (Ezekiel 37:15-24). In one way, God was promising to bring the divided nation of Israel and Judah back together as one, but in another way, God was promising that the Gentile nations would also be brought into the nation of Israel and made as one people with them.

Of course Gentile believers already knew that in Christ, we are adopted into God's family. All who come to Jesus are one people to God, whether they are Jew or Gentile. But since Jesus came out of Judaism, we must remember that those who believe in Him are to follow after Him and the life He lived, and He lived out the Law of God perfectly. Since we are grafted into the family tree of God's people, our heritage is Judaism - the faith, not the tradition or the religion. Jesus initiated the New Covenant on the foundation of the Old, and meant for God's people to continue on after Him. What isn't corrected by the New Covenant, still remains from the Old Covenant, because Jesus didn't come to do away with the Law of God or the Word of God spoken by the prophets (Matthew 5:17).

"Christians" are not meant to be a separate faith, we are meant to be Messianic Jews or New Testament Jews - or I guess a more accurate term would be Messianic Israelites. Whatever we are called, we who believe in Jesus are all God's people who carry His name and live by His ways. The Church has gotten so far from the ways of God, and has simply stamped Jesus' name onto so many pagan practices, that it's no wonder that we look and act so much like the world and so differently from what God's Word says. When a child is adopted, they must learn the ways of that new family and abide by them. We Gentiles have lived out our Christian faith taking only bits and pieces of what we like or understand from the Old Testament and stand stubbornly in the New Testament as if it could stand on it's own without it's foundation. The "Church" was not established at Pentecost after Jesus was taken up to heaven, rather it was established at the base of Mt Sinai, when Moses brought God's Law to the people. That's when God's people became an assembly of those who worshipped God and believed His Word. And since then, through the prophets, through Jesus, and the apostles, and the Holy Spirit, and through those anointed for leadership ministry within the Body of Christ today — we have been learning the true meaning of loving and pleasing God, and loving one another and growing up in Jesus. We should be learning God's Law, and ridding ourselves of the traditions and legality made by human wisdom.

For example: we Christians in America fight for the posting of the Ten Commandments in public, yet the majority of us don't even keep the Ten Commandments... How much of the Church observes Sunday as the day of rest, rather than Saturday, which is the real Sabbath? Sunday is the first day of the week - a day originally honored by pagans to worship the sun god. We call it the Lord's Day and claim to meet together for worship on Sunday because Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday. That's all well and good, but that's not keeping the Sabbath, which is the third Commandment (Exodus 20:8-11). The real reason we observe Sunday, over the Saturday Sabbath is because tradition teaches us to do so, and it would be too inconvenient to go against the flow of what the Catholic religion and Roman rule has programmed into all of modern civilization. We replace God's Law with our own, and we do it in many ways all the time, even when we read the Truth in God's Word, and then we claim "grace" to excuse it.

Of course all who come to Jesus as their Lord and Savior through faith are saved by grace. God grants grace to cover our immaturities and ignorance, until we learn better. And by God's grace we are no longer under the laws and traditions of men, we are free from sin, ourselves, and the world, and enabled by the Holy Spirit to live according to God's Law. It ceases from being a matter of "HAVE to" and becomes a matter of "GET to" - resting in the work and righteousness of Jesus! We live by the Holy Spirit and automatically fulfill the Law of God, what God's people struggled to do and failed at before Jesus came. We need to stop perpetuating traditions in the Church and instead, learn God's Word, promote and teach it, and help bring us Gentiles back to God's ways - the ways God taught to the Israelites. They are our spiritual roots too, after all. Even if we cannot trace our DNA lineage back to the tribe of Ephraim, we certainly qualify at the very least as "fellow worshippers", and the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob (Israel), and the God of Moses, is still the same God of our Lord Jesus Christ and is our Father!

Eventually, all of God's people will no longer be different and separate branches of one tree, we will be joined together as one branch rooted in Christ Jesus! We should get to practicing God's ways now, and no longer expect Him to bend to and bless our version of living for Him.

Theologian

2006-03-28T11:53:00.000-06:00

So... it appears that I am a theologian.

My most recent class is called Systematic Theology. The book for the class looks like three encyclopedias put together in one hardback mega book. My first thought was, "Yikes! I have to read that?!?" Dread filled my mind; I was already taking too long in my classes as it was and I was really hoping that this would be the class that I got through quickly. You know, like you rip off a band-aid. I LOVE reading, but I'm a very slow reader, and boring content would slow anyone down.

I opened up the mega theology book, and began to read the first chapter. Before I knew it, the book had not only drawn me in and got me completely hooked on the "boring content", but it actually defined me right before my eyes. I was absolutely shocked to discover that a big chunk of who I am is considered a theologian in academic and scientific circles - both by the Christian and secular communities. How crazy is that?!?! As I kept reading, the notion slowly dawned on me until I began feeling like the equivalent math nerd who giggled with glee while reading a higher mathematics or scientific textbook.

I suddenly stopped to analyze the situation. Thoughts of the stereotypical theologians filled my mind and I became almost offended with myself. I envisioned old stuffy men from the 1600's or 1700's, who studied the legality of the Bible and reveled in the religion of Christianity, who debated and philosophized over God's Word with other theologians rather than trying to understand it and putting it into actual practice, who wore big long robes, and walked around looking down on the average Christian. I guess I'm describing just slightly more contemporary versions of Pharisees, but that's what I think of. I mentioned to my husband (who was in the room at the time) the fact that I happened to be described as a theologian in the book I was reading, and his response was not one of surprise, but rather a casual concurring, and a hint of wonder at the fact that I was surprised. Hopefully he wasn't thinking what I was thinking of what a stereotypical theologian was.

Never before had I accepted the matter of Church-set creeds or doctines - rather I had always believed that God's Word alone, taught to us by the Holy Spirit, was all the Church needed in written documentation. I still believe this (as in, I still believe that God's Word combined with the Holy Spirit is our Source of Authority on this earth, and that human interpretation only adds or takes away from that Truth), however, it is also a well known fact that God's Word is not written in a clear and orderly fashion, not even chronologically. And for years now, on my own, I have researched and set up by the Holy Spirit's guiding me, a set of topical studies, explainations and amplifications of Biblical teachings, and have restructured Scripture in a written down language that makes God's Word comprehensible to others who would read them. As I thought the matter through, I realized that perhaps what my preconceived ideas of what a theologian really was, may have been only what I've seen in old movies or TV, and I began to remember books that have been written by theologians that have greatly benefitted believers in centuries past and present. People who God had used to re-reveal His Truth throughout the Church age, when much of Truth was hidden. Those people did a great service for the Kingdom of God on this earth, because they searched for the Truth and the understanding of God's Word, and taught it to others, who carried it out in their faith and into the world.

As my mental image was shifting around this concept of what a theologian really is, a few days later, I asked a friend of mine what she thought. She wasn't suprised either. Instead, she reassured me that she didn't see me as a lofty, self-righteous, mental storehouse of Churchianity. But I've always gotten stuck in the assumption that theologians aquire a vast amount of mental knowledge, but their hearts stay cold and they don't live out the life of Christ Jesus that's in their head. Maybe some theologians are like that, but I never want to be like that! When you break it down to: "someone who studies God's Word and learns of Him and from Him in order to grow and teach Him to others", I think of that as just being a Christian, that we all are capable of doing that, and are responsible for doing just that. But I suppose the difference is in the degree to which a person does this. Not everyone is called to the same service or ministry, within the church or out in the world. Not everyone has the time nor passion to research, translate, pray and wait for the Holy Spirit's teaching on each fundamental aspect of Christianity in addition to having the giftings to communicate it to others. Perhaps the closest Biblical term for theologian would be an apostle, and God has already been opening my eyes to my becoming a servant leader in that way for a while now. Maybe this is only confirmation or at least another step towards God molding me into what He needs me to be for Him to use for His purposes and glory! How honored I am to be the lump of clay in His hands!! Lord, help me from being judgmental - let me accept and love all that You accept and love!

Friendships

2006-03-18T09:47:00.000-06:00

Among my personal acheivements in growing, is the ability to develop, maintain, and truly appreciate friendships. I have come to rely on a small group of young women regularly for comradery and support - and hopfully I provide the same services for each of them as well. We all became friends at one church, but even though two of us have moved away from that area, we all still take the time to invest ourselves into the others, and meet together as often as schedules allow. In my endevor to reach out beyond my comfort zone and take on relationships, God has blessed me far more than I ever thought possible through them. Each one of them has ministered to me in areas of my life that has been absolutely priceless. I could not ever express how much I have come to value and appreciate them over the years!

In seeing the above picture, I am reminded of the Bible study group of young adults in the church where we all met. I see myself and three of the women who remained faithful to each other... but I am also a little saddened by the thought of the women that didn't "make it" into the group over the long haul for one reason or another, women that very well should have. One of these is a young woman who opted to not reveal her heart to me, yet I feel very much as if I failed her. When we were all together at this church, she and her husband led the Bible study group at their home. The two of them became foster parents to a beautiful little girl. She and her husband were gifted in recognizing new people in the church and making them feel welcome. Year after year passed by, and even though we were never close friends on a deep level, I knew that she was in a lot of pain in her marriage. I could never get her to talk to me about it, and I had no idea the extent of her hurt, the details, or how to help her, so I left it up to her to convide in me or whoever when she was ready. Eventually, my husband and myself left that church and later moved away from that area.

Some time later, I found out that this young woman began an affair and she and her husband ended up getting a divorce. How heartbreaking that is! I wish now that I would have locked her up in a room with me and forced her to open up when I had the chance. Her ex-husband and my husband are still friends, and I hear that he is rebuilding his life, but she is long gone, and whatever help I could have done her in the past is a closed door to me now.

Remorse is a real, but meaningless feeling, because there is nothing I can do about it now, but pray. The truth is, even if I had revealed the little I did know to more of her friends and together we confronted her, or made it impossible for her to bottle up her hurt, or even talked to her husband about it, I will never know at this point whether of not that would have helped or hurt the situation, she was such a private person. I suppose I can take a small amount of comfort in the fact that God didn't lead me to push her about it, nor do I feel like I ignored His voice or disobeyed Him in dealing with her. But isn't it a friend who would act on what they see in their friend's life? I was either not a good friend to her, or I was not what she needed in a friend. Either way, I have learned from that experience. I have learned that it is better to err on the side of over-concern than to procrastinate or ignore something. Maybe I wasn't the one who could help her, but I was one of the people around her who saw signs and recognized that her heart was aching, so I should have at least done more than wait. Perhaps one day she will accidentally stumble onto this posting and read that my thoughts and prayers are still with her. Given the chance, I would apologize to her for not being a better friend.

Desperate Housewife or Not • Part II

2006-03-12T19:56:00.000-06:00

I'm still going to school full-time to get Bible education, and I don't plan to stop until I get at least one masters degree, but that isn't for my ministry or because God specifically instructed me to do so. God allows me to, as a blessing, because learning is fun for me. It might aid me in my purpose later on, but I don't know that for sure at this point. The credentials and status of holding diplomas or degrees isn't a motivating factor in the slightest bit for me, but I am first and foremost a student of the Word in my core, and therefore, school or not, I will always be studying the Bible as long as I have breath.

My ongoing dilema is haunting me once again - not my calling vs. my gender, but the underscoring uncertainty of what exactly my calling is. My flesh craves a defined box to work towards and place myself in - even though I know God doesn't work that way. Many other impressions have been placed on my heart over the past few years - things so grand that I choke on them to say them outloud. I never have sought power or position, authority or control, reputation or wealth - but I have come to be passionate about becoming as low as possible to be used as greatly as possible to whatever God desires, which I'm afraid means something with much more authority and responsibility than I would have dreamed on my own.

The woman's world is harder in a lot of ways, and I certainly don't make it any easier on myself. There's pressure on one side to be a mom, a homemaker and a spiritual second class citizen. There's pressure on the other side to not be a slacker and instead be an equal contributor to society and to my household financially by being out there in the work force. I don't care what people think of me, or how I come off to others, I only care about what God thinks of me - but what do you do when the picture isn't clear, and when it's possible to please Him living either way for the present season in your life?

Currently, I am a housewife - no kids and no regular job outside the house. I'm just a full-time student. That fact eats at me every once in a while. I feel like I'm not doing anything, at the same time, I know I'm getting ready for doing much more than what I can do on my own. Every so often I look for a real job and find nothing. I want to contribute to the household financially like the ideal wife of Proverbs 31, but I haven't seemed to find anything other than jobs that I wouldn't last long in. I don't feel like I'm supposed to do anything more than what I am doing right now - but I want to anyway. I want to dive right into my purpose now, even though I'm not sure what that is yet - fully anyway. I'm so blessed to be in the position that I'm in - to have a husband that makes enough that I don't HAVE to work. His gifts and ability to work with them and earn money are God's provision for us financially right now. And even if that were taken away, God would still be our soul Provider by another means as long as we keep Him first and above all in our lives. He never fails us, but that isn't my point. I ought to be grateful for the opportunity to be able to just concentrate on school, housework, and being a good wife, and on my relationship with the Father. So why the reaccuring inner battles? My whole life, I've been a visionary. I've seen the big picture over the details and I've understood the vastness of God's power over my own. Since I've been saved and called into ministry, I've always been able to see the end results before the steps getting there. But my purpose is one area of my life where I have peices to the puzzle, but I can't fit them together to see the bigger picture. I fight every day with the temptation to go off and start a major business or ministry - not just to be doing something, but to be doing what I'm called to do. I know I must wait on God's timing, but I ache to live out my purpose with all that I am.

Half of me is excited to no end about where I see God leading me to be used so far - the other half of me is terrified. I suppose that's a good place to be in, so that I don't dare go off on my own without God's wisdom and power to not only lead me but back me up as well. I never want to step outside my calling, because I wouldn't stand a second without His protection, provision, and anointing - and the second I would stand, even if I could produce good fruit on my own, it wouldn't be eternal and it would end up worthless anyway. I'm not here to waste time, and I am so impatient, but God is a gourmet chef and we microwave people need to conform to His ways, not the other way around. I work against myself and what God is working in me all the time with my inner conflicts - the human part of me who wants control and to do my own thing, to do God's work my way.

I guess the truth of the matter is that I know deep down where God is leading me, and it's so much more than what I could ever do on my own that my fear and flesh fight against it. Again, I must place myself on the altar and submit to the Holy Spirit's leading and trust that God will be faithful to accomplish what He will though me - in spite of me - and perfecting me in the process. What an truly awesome God I serve - higher than the highest, and above all others! I will get to where He leads me by His grace!

Desperate Housewife or Not • Part I

2006-03-12T19:01:00.000-06:00

Soon after I dedicated my life to Christ - I was called into full-time ministry. Since that time, I've been grasping at straws trying to pin down what that full-time ministry was. At the very first moment of my calling, I was in college, in my dorm room alone. I wasn't doing anything in particular when all of a sudden I was driven to my knees, tears flowing too quickly for any one tissue to handle, with heart wrenching, mentally debating prayer taking place, and a final utter submission and truly humble utterance of "yes Lord - I'll do whatever you want". I didn't really think about the details about what I was saying "yes" to. All I knew at the moment was that Jesus was speaking to me, calling me to follow Him with all of my life in every area of my life - all for Him to use for His glory, and His Presence was so strong, that I really didn't feel like I actually had much of a choice anyway - and who in their right mind would say in that situation "no thanks God, I'd rather do my own thing". So, the next morning, I changed my major from Music to Bible, and I got serious about learning and following God.

However, my human logic, tradition, and religion kicked in and immediately took over. I pursued the education and steps one takes to become a youth and worship minister in a church. Why did I jump to this conclusion, you ask? Well, because I could sing, I was already in the music program, and because I loved teenagers and connected with them easily. These not only were two areas where God had given me natural talents, but it also happened to be about the only other position than children's minister in the church that a woman could get hired on at full time. For years I chased that goal and got shut down on every side - not that I wasn't gifted or that I didn't see fruit in the churches where I led the youth ministry or the worship team, but rather it was a fight inside and out - that the ministry was a good fit, but not what God was wanting to use me in.

Of course, like most churches teach, I believed that women and church leadership didn't mix, but my heart was full of the Holy Spirit speaking visions for me to be used by God that didn't agree with my belief. I would cry out to God tormented - "why would you give me this calling and make me a woman?!?" Soon, words like "prophet", "apostle", and "overseer" would rush into my mind and heart during my prayer times and I would get even further frustrated. I couldn't respect women in spiritual authority, so there was no way I would ever allow myself to be in that position. I rocked back and forth from despising my gender to despising God for His constant call beckoning me deeper. I fought for years with myself - laying myself down before God and His Word, asking Him to reveal my weaknesses, and to remove my pride, for I must be missing something - I must be mishearing His call, because God would not conflict with His Word.

I contuned my Bible education - I had gotten married and tried desperately to live out my call through my husband, thinking, maybe he is called to be a great servant in the kingdom of God, and therefore I can do the ministry of spiritual authority being his wife in that position without the recognition. This was a great answer for me intellectually, but all attempts of doing so only brought more frustration to me spiritually, and too much more to my husband and marriage. The fact is, my husband isn't called to any type of full-time church ministry in the same way I am - and no matter how hard I'd try to get him into the ministry I was led towards, the more damage I did to him. So eventually, I gave that up and resought the Lord.

You know those times when you totally give up and you are just a puddle on mush with no will or agenda at all, and your doing good to just survive?? Well, I got to that point, and just as I hit total pliability in God's hands, re-revealed Truth was brought to light - not just to me, but to a growing amount of the church body... God was not conflicting with His Word... His Word had been mishandled and mistranslated in the English in a few of the many areas that spoke of women in ministry. I know God was waiting until I let go of my human traditions and religions to see His Word in the Light of His Will, to be willing to value His Will and Word above what I had come to understand with my small human mind. Once I found the Truth barried in God's Word, the conflict was resolved and my identity in Christ became unified with my spirit and the Holy Spirit, and I could finally accept my calling! Finally I had become free to become ANYTHING God wanted me to be!!!

Continued... Desperate Housewife or Not • Part II

Present Blessing from the Past

2006-03-02T17:26:00.001-06:00

I recently got reconnected with one of my best friends from my old college days - and wow! how awesome it was to hear from her!! I can't believe how much I missed her, even though I knew how much she's always meant to me ever since we first met. She was a kindred spirit to me. She was one of my first two roommates, we had TONS in common - we were both vocalist in the music department, we were both in a Christian singing group called Reflections together, and as I recall, we were both really into our men at the time in addition to having similar personalities. She was more outgoing though, and was involved in more activities than I was. It seemed like everyone knew her, and those who knew her, loved her. She was one of those caring, passionate souls who was contagious in her love of life! She's still like that now, and I can't imagine her ever dulling down. (↑ This is a picture of us in college - first day in the dorm)

One major difference in personalities back in the day was that I was much more reflective and isolated within myself or in my small pocket of allies. I've never been shy in the least, just way too emotionally independent to need many friends or family. A pioneer spirit, I've burned nearly every bridge behind me in life in attempts to pursue a future without a past to hold me down. Even in churches and schools all growing up - I had a strict relationship limit, and even those relationships were all subject to change (dropped or replaced eventually) in my mindset. How odd that sounds in writing, but I'm sure I'm not the only one in the world like that. Time was most precious to me, more precious than people, so since people take time, I chose to select my very limited number of friends carefully, based on time-management and trust. This particular friend met both fundamental requirements for me - and ended up blessing me far more than she'll ever know.

After my second year of college, I got married and moved away... and my husband and I moved almost once a year every year after that for seven years straight. Naturally, my friend and I lost touch often, quickly, and very easily. So how was she able to finally track me down, you ask? Well, my husband and I finally stopped pioneering and settled instead. About two years ago, we took the plunge and bought a house, which besides money requires a certain time commitment to the location. We planted roots - spiritual roots anyway. We got online (as you can see), we put ourselves out there, we allowed God to establish us where He wanted us. So we dedicated ourselves to longer-term projects and relationships as God led despite how very unacustomed to that as I was. In this shift in my acceptance to embrace committing my precious time into a steady address, I slowly began to let more people into my life that I am now completely invested in for the long haul! I know, I know - I'm growing. And some bridges that I've burned up, I still need to eventually go back and rebuild if I can. I'm a work in progress like everyone else.

So back to my old college friend... I'm very excited to be able to get her back into my life - more now than ever. I appreciate her in a way now that I probabaly couldn't have before. Hopefully and with God's blessing, we will stay connected this time!

Faith

2006-02-21T13:43:00.000-06:00

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

2006-02-14T12:54:00.005-06:00

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

2006-02-03T23:09:00.000-06:00

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!

All Posts

2006-02-03T08:18:00.003-06:00

Hello & Welcome
Balance
Faith
Present Blessing From The Past
Desperate Housewife or Not • Part 1
Desperate Housewife or Not • Part 2
Friendships
Theologian
Grafted Into Israel
Sign of Jonah
Drummer Man
Being Perfect vs. Perfectionism
Good vs. Evil
Praise God Moment!!!
Mother's Day
Sexuality Deterioration
Spiritual Retreat
Upcoming Anniversary
Anniversary Trip
Marriage
Seek God • First
Father's Day
The Bible
The Woman Sexist Against Women
Bible Study: Women in Church Leadership • Part 1
Bible Study: Women in Church Leadership • Part 2
Bible Study: Women in Church Leadership • Part 3
Bible Study: Women in Church Leadership • Part 4
Bible Study: Women in Church Leadership • Part 5
Friendship to Win Souls?
Church Shopping
Inspired!
The Five-Fold Ministry • Part 1
The Five-Fold Ministry • Part 2
Church Shopping Progression Leads to Resolve
Worship
Camps
Righteousness
Appearing Righteous
Fear & Reverence
Between Classes
We are the Temple
Halloween Vs. Reformation Day
Somewhere to Get Covered
Jeans
Jesus Doesn't Want A Child Bride
Distracted
Does GOD Choose NOT To Heal?
GOD or Allah: A Closer Look at the GOD of the Old Testament
I'm Pro-Choice
Practice