The Revealing

The church is in an influx of confusion and is in need of a cleansing. Some groups have gone as far to insist the office of the Apostle is coming back. These groups have already started acting as if they are Apostles. Don’t be fooled, and have no part of it. These men haven’t met the requirements of the office. They weren't chosen, they didn't witness his resurrection. Paul the last of the Apostles was in the presence of the Messiah. He was commissioned and personally taught by him. These movements are nothing but farces. As far as the cleansing is concerned, it is getting back to truths. The transitional period the church is going is the revealing of past and current ignorance. How disturbing is it to have a young boy singing homos are going to hell. This kind of activity is silly as well as reckless. The only reason we know of the incident is that someone you tubed it. Another incident that went viral was when a NC preacher said they should build a high electric fence and put all the gays in it. This behavior in the pulpit is irresponsible and it hurts the church more than you think. For all the gay and lesbians out there, the church is missing opportunities to witness. The second error is, think of the many other people that are listening to this hate being spewed. You are turning people off not on. It’s okay to preach the sincere word; it’s not okay to add to the sincere word.

Andrew Sullivan who’s article that was featured in Newsweek questioning the church was correct in many ways. He’s a bit delusional. Protestantism claims to be the truth, it doesn't view the Catholic Church as credible. Andrew seems to link both as one, it is at best misleading. Why don’t they deal with their overreaching issues that have plastered headlines and continue to be in the headlines? Andrew is also openly gay, which I don’t mind. The problem I have is he wants to spread the ills of the church but doesn't want to deal with his personal sins.

It is true the church is starting to go through a revealing; simply for it to deal with homosexuality and gay marriage. The church is being outed, as it should be outed. In order for the body to be cleansed, it has to be vulnerable in order to get back on the right track. The second issue is doctrine. The church has to get back to truths and stop putting personal convictions on people. God is going to do a great work, but the people’s hearts and minds must be receptacle to God’s truths and workings. A divided church cannot be effective!

Personal Thought

People always want more of God, but how can they have more when they can't understand what they have. God can't bless ignorance. He has to have something within you he can use so you can grow.

A Rap on Tradition

Tradition, what is tradition? Is tradition a negative or a positive thing? Tradition is something that is passed down. The word can be looked at 2 ways.

1. When we use the Bible as our text. The Jewish people passed down the law and as the generations passed, tradition was also passed down. More tradition was added because of more knowledge, this is a good thing.

2. When tradition that has been passed down is more authoritative than the scripture, we have usurped the authority of the sovereign.

3.Teaching that is handed down, especially from a teacher to his disciples.

Our tradition has taken precedence over the word of Yahweh(God). You're probably saying , "why is he harping on this subject of tradition"? Simply because we have taken and placed man made doctrine over the word. Ex. tithing, Sunday keeping, trinity, heaven, to only name a few. My question is simple, do you believe in the word or not? If I say something that doesn't agree with what you believe, am I wrong; even I say it can be proven Scripturally.

As we have noted earlier, tradition is passed down. Because of tradition in the 21st century many fellowships have been robbed of many blessing because of ignorance. Many denominations teach tongues have been done away with. Allow me to ask a question, what is the difference between us and the Apostles; nothing! Nothing has changes one bit. Allow me to ask another question, what dispensation is this? The age or dispensation that we abide in is grace. Has this changed or been done away with the Apostles. On the subject of tongues. Scripture teaches us one day tongues will cease. When will that day be? At a time when it's no longer necessary. When we receive our incorruptible bodies. Secondly tongues have and serve a purpose. The ones who fight this so much, can they honestly answer these questions or are they induced by tradition that was passed down from the Founders till it's present day. In the 15th chapter of 1Corinthians tells us a few things about tongues. It is for the believer as it is for the unbeliever. Tongues is a one way conversation with Yahweh(God).

I would also like to speak about another blessing that tradition has almost ruined; healing. In most traditional fellowships the word is almost taboo. the problem many have with healing is the tradition has taught them not to look at the scriptures like a Deist. A running joke is "I once heard Satan say, if you don't want Christians to know something, simply put in a Bible, they don't read it anyway". Their must be some truth to it, because Yahweh(God) is only as big as you let him be in your life. Looking at our pathetic world, it rings true to me.

I hope you enjoyed this post, it simply points out a few issues that bother me. Also the information isn't comprehensive, you can go further and build on it.

In the face of trails

²My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;

³Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

⁴But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing(James 2:2-4).

In the making of the complete person we must at times face issues that plague us. In doing so only makes us more complete as followers of his perfect word. The 3 scriptures above are a formula.

1. Falling into temptation

2. Knowing their is an answer

3. Allowing you to become mature

I used to struggle with these versus as a young person. As I got older, I didn't flee when it was convenient for me to do so, but to stand in the face of opposition. Instead of running away from a problem run to the solution. In God's word he teaches for us to "cast our cares upon him for he cares for us". I know this can be difficult in the face of real issues such as an illness or even losing your home, but we have to let God have his perfect work. In his model he speaks of "ye may be perfect and entire", that word "perfect" simply means mature, lacking nothing.

God is grooming us for a purpose, he created us for struggle. He's showing us in his model how we benefit and how to be of service to him.

There is an old saying "life is easy, but living is hard". We have to live on this earth as ambassadors for him. It's time we grow an become what he's calling us to do. It's time we become the change we envision.

Properly Framing the Gay Argument Pt.2

In the article Properly Framing the Gay Argument, I showed the parallels between the argument for and against homosexuality. As the debate continues to rage on (as it will) I want to follow-up about the dangers of picking a side. What do I mean about picking a side? Rather than looking at this through the eyes of the scripture but instead looking at this moral issue through the eyes of immoral men and women who claim to be purveyors of truth.

This issue has turned into a debate by political whores on both sides of the aisle who simply want your vote. The “Right” tries to play up its religious pedigree, simply to receive your vote. This proposes many issues. Maybe you disagree with their policy and many of their views, yet you vote for them and their country crippling policy, as long as they are against gays. This is nothing new. I’ve been in the Ekklesia (church) where we were told “not to vote for the issues, but for your conscience.” That makes absolutely no sense to vote for a politician who undermines how you feel about issues that personally affect your life. The problem with the Left is they play for the emotional vote. While there is a point to be made, no one group has the God card. Secondly, we do have to treat people with dignity. Yet, is it really about dignity or is it about votes. When it comes to politicians, it’s about the constituency and votes; overall it’s about winning.

God isn’t silent when it comes to his involvement in governments.

Properly framing the Gay Argument pt.1

The subject of one’s sexuality continues to come up. As the sun is scorching the United States so is the topic of homosexuality. The problem I have is how the argument is being framed. Should gays have equal rights? Are they born this way or is it a choice? As I mentioned before the framing of the issue has been wrong. The argument generally falls between two camps: for or against. Those for believe the Constitution answers the question. Those against believe the Bible is the answer. So, what is the answer? Well both, kind of.

Let’s deal with the Bible and the religious side first. I would like to add something first, people hold and have the right to agree as well as disagree. This is what adds to the framework of the argument. We all need to learn to disagree agreeably or agreeably disagree. No one opinion is absolute.

Let’s get back to the religious aspect. The Bible is written for all those that will hear. People have the right to follow its teachings or not. I want to deal with three very specific scriptures that people point to in opposition to homosexuality. The first is Romans 1. It’s important to read the entire book of Romans but for time constraints we will begin with verses 21-32.

Vain Imaginings

As with anything conspiracies are a part of daily life. From 9/11 to the birth certificate of the President of the United States being fraudulent, the list is forever growing. Today we have a new conspiracy. I guess I wouldn't go as far as saying new but it's gaining  and garnering more attention. It first reared its ugly head in relation to what took place with Rodney King; a much widely publicized event.

There is a new ignorance brewing that is placing God at the forefront of killing individuals. Don't misunderstand, when we look at Old Testament scriptures, God has told his leaders kill everyone in the city, man, woman, child, because no good will ever come from them.

First, I would like to say I believe in the inerrancy of the word of God, but do I believe everything that is written within each book; NO! We have to understand how to study the Bible. This understanding can take some time but let me give you a few short examples.

Anything written in italics was put there by the translators. Look at the word Easter. A celebration people erroneously involve themselves in each year,  clearya secular non-Biblical holiday. The King James Version is the only book that translates it as Easter, the other Bibles translates it correctly as Passover. That's a huge sacred cow that has been knocked over. The second cow that needs to be tipped over is the book: Revelation or Apocalypse. God is going to reveal something from his word. The book of Revelation is the final book or chapter that reveals what will happen. The problem with it is it contains numerous symbols and allegory which means mystical. So in reading, should everything should it all be taken literally?