Splits, Divisions, and other Church math…

In my recent article on Examiner.com, I ended with a question and you’ll just have to read the article….

So, to answer the question… ABSOLUTELY NOT! There is no difference in those to reasons!  It all boils down to selfish pride.  “You’re wrong.  I’m right.“  At least, I’m more right than you!

Here’s the thing… truth is truth, whether I believe it to be truth or not.   What happens it that I, in my prideful arrogance, automatically assume that I cannot possibly be wrong, because I clearly hear God better than you.

In my opinion… this is EXACTLY how churches divide!  This is EXACTLY how we have gone from 1 faith to well more than 10,000 various denominations of the same faith (supposedly) in the last 1000 years!

How do we get it back?  How do we get back to Acts 2:42-47

42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. The New King James Version. 1982 (Ac 2:42-47). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

I don’t really know.  My guess is that it would start with the very thing that started the church in the beginning… just a few verses earlier…

Acts 2:38-39
38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”  The New King James Version. 1982 (Ac 2:38-39). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

What do you think?  Jesus called it pretty clearly in when he spoke to the woman at the well…

John 4:21-24 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father.22 You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” The New King James Version. 1982 (Jn 4:21-24). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Leave me your comments…

Running After Papa…

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Free Indeed (John 8:36)

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36, NIV)

How does Jesus set us free?

1 Peter 5:8 tells me that my enemy is relentless . He is continually after you and me.  His methods have not changed since The Fall.  He knows those “barbs” and those “hooks” he can toss out our way and when you or I respond or react or agree with them – BAM! He comes in like a flood.   He is the master deceiver.  John 8:44 tells us his native tongue is falsehood.  He is a liar.  That is who he is. So every morning when you and I wake up, our enemy is looking for some deception for us to grab ahold of; some falsehood of who we are; some fallacy saying that WHAT WE DID is WHO WE ARE; some cock-and-bull story about some bondage we’ll never shake, some addiction we’ll never kick, some fear we’ll never be rid of. ALL OF IT LIES.  He just wants you and me to agree with him on something.

Jesus said “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”  Jesus said it. So I ask again… How does Jesus set you and me free?  Enter Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Gal 2:20, NASB)

Check this out. If I am dead. What power does my enemy hold over me? I am dead. What power does any thing hold over me? What power does any addiction, any fear, any bondage hold over me? None. I am dead.

That, my friend, is good news.

I was driving to our men’s Bible Study on Thursday morning knowing I was going to share the gist of this revelation during worship. I really began to contemplate and expound on the effects of being crucified… of being dead to myself.

Dead men…

• … don’t have any rights to get stepped on
• … don’t have any expectations to go unmet
• … don’t have any fears to bind them
• … can’t worry about yesterday, today or tomorrow
• … can’t compare their lives to those around them
• … can’t carry the weight of the world
• … can’t believe the lies of the enemy

… and as I was enumerating this list, God said something kinda funny but poignant.  He said that dead men can’t believe the lies of the enemy because “DEAD MEN CANNOT HEAR” and I kinda laughed, but realized that is HUGE!  This is a big deal because not only is my enemy a LIAR, when I am dead – I CANNOT HEAR HIS LIES.

This is a really great litmus test.  If I am responding to my enemy’s relentless attack, their lies about who I am, or what I will or will never be, etc., etc.  – then SOME PART OF MY FLESH HAS CRAWLED OFF THE CROSS.

I have more thoughts stirring on this… stay tuned.

Running After Papa…

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Free Indeed (John 8:36)

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:36, NIV)

How does this happen? How am I free “indeed”?

Our enemy is relentless (1 Peter 5:8). He is continually at us. He is the master deceiver. John 8:44 tells us his native tongue is falsehood. That is who he is. So every morning when we wake up, our enemy is looking for some deception for us to grab hold of; some falsehood of who we are; some fallacy saying that who we WERE is who we ARE; some cock-and-bull story about some bondage we’ll never shake, some addiction we’ll never kick, some fear we’ll never be rid of. ALL OF IT LIES.

Jesus said “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” Jesus said it. So I ask again… “How?” Enter Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” (Gal 2:20, NASB)

Check this out. If I am dead. What power does anyone hold over me? What power does any thing hold over me? What power does any addiction, any fear, any bondage hold over me? None. If I am no longer alive, then I have no more worries to haunt me, no more fears to paralyze me, no more rights to be stepped on, no more expectations to be let down, no more LIES to BELIEVE.

That, my friend, is good news.

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Branches, Leaves and Fruit (John 15:5)

I am studying the occurances of the word (0r form of the word) “leaf” in the Bible.  God is stirring up something of a message in it.

As I read several passages about leaves tonight, God kept bringing up the words of Christ saying “I am the vine. You are the branches.” found in John 15:5 (for further reading check out a writing I did November 2006 called “Remaining In (John 15:1-17)“)  That verse is:

John 15:5 (ESV) ⁵ I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Because it’s become obvious in my studies that I cannot study the leaf, without also studying the branches and the fruit.  According to this verse, I am a branch plugged into the true vine (or think trunk, for a tree).  So my question is becoming this:

What is the “leaf” vs. what is the “fruit”?

Several places in the Scriptures, the word “fruit” is often associated with the words “in season,” which would imply there are times that we do not produce fruit.  (See: Num 13:20;  Ps 1:3; Hos 9:10;  Matt 21:34; Matt 21:41; Acts 14:17 as a few examples of fruit associated with season).

This opens up a whole line of questioning about what I’ve always defined as “fruit” – think the Gal 5:22-23 “fruits of the Spirit”.  If there are seasons of no fruit by definition, then “fruit in season” can’t mean what I’ve thought it meant, because I should be producing the fruits of the Spirit, year round, regardless of the season.

Thoughts?

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Burdened…

Last night I toured the Mormon Temple Square in Salt Lake City.  It was an amazing place.  I walked away burdened, not only for the salvation of my Mormon friends, but for the state of which the Big-C church, particularly in America, is.

Why isn’t Christ making a difference in people’s lives in the nonMormon church?  Why is the divorce rate just as high in the church as it is among the unchurched?  Why isn’t the Church as a whole full of the same devotion and fervor as the Mormon church?  Why doesn’t the American church-goer really try to live the commandments of Christ?  Jesus himself commanded twice “Go and sin no more.” (John 5:14, 8:11)  He wouldn’t give a command that wasn’t “keepable”.  So why do we keep on intentionally sinning?  Because we either do not know God, or we do not fear God.

I can’t help but play Matt 7:21-23 over and over in my head.  (By the way relek95, I thought you were going to do the 10 scariest passages in the Bible… to my count, this was the first and only one you did… I’m looking forward to the other nine…)

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

So who are those that know Him?    That word “know” is an expression of intimacy. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. (Jn 10:27-28).

I am burdened that the American church-goer abuses the grace and mercy of our Father because we – as the American church – have no idea how much our sin hurts Him and how it is so disgusting and offensive to Him.  I wonder how many people in the American church really “fear’ Him, I mean, really, really, fear him.  We’ve so preached the goodness, mercy and grace of Father, that it’s almost like we’ve stripped Him of the awe-factor and honor and respect and fear that He is due.

I, for one, am choosing to live Christ’s commands, but not out of a “settling the scoresheet”, or “I owe Him so much”, or “I’m working for a higher position in eternity” mentality, but out of the knowledge that I cannot ever repay Him for the Grace and Mercy He’s shown me.  I am incapable of any works worthy.  “My righteousness is as a filthy rag” (Is. 64:6).  I choose to live his commands because I love him and intimately know him and hear His voice.  I do it out of relationship, not out of religion.  I do it out of gratefulness, not out of paying my debt, because He paid my debt for me. (Jn 3:16)

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