i would rather be a beautiful baguette than a moldy mouthful of beaten-down bread

 

going to church on Sunday…for the building up of your spirit…is like going to the day old bread store and buying a bag of moldy bread. sure, the product is still there, but you get a stale loaf with major rot going on inside…

wouldn’t you rather go to a good cook’s house, have a little baguette with kosher wine, and a nice supper with people who love God and want to live that out every day…every night?

wouldn’t you rather keep your money for someone who you know really needs it, instead of putting it in an offering plate or offering bag, and wondering if the typical 2% church outreach fund actually made it to someone in need?

wouldn’t you rather read the Word of God for yourself, guided by the Spirit of God, who shows you things that the pastor would never see because he or she is so focused on the Mosaic Law (which is history for us)?

if you actually think about what you read in the New Testament, without the voice of pastors and the five fold heresy blabbering on and on, surely the Lord will show you the truth…

and the truth will set you free, while the pastor is still stuck inside that cardboard box, unable to climb out of it…

 

 

 

 

 

the train has left the station on the wrong track

last summer i sat in bewilderment as i listened to the answers over and over again. the question was so simple, but the answers were mind-blowing. of the hundreds i met who claimed to be Christians, very few could tell me what they were saved from, what they died to, and what they were raised to- and this coming from a majority who claimed to be Baptist. it was, i now realize, just one more sign that the train has left the station and is headed down the wrong track…

back in reality, that train left centuries ago. what i heard that day, though, was a louder whistle, more passengers, and a whole line of cars beyond numbering. the train was not only on the wrong track- it was moving so quickly out of control, burning fuel at a massive rate.

meanwhile, numerous conductors, all trying to out-perform each other, contributed to an over-fired furnace, the engine burning like the midnight sun…

and i wondered…and began to stop each one, and bring them back to scripture…the track they and the assemblies they attended had switched from, onto a new line.

it began at the heart of the gospel: Jesus Christ came to save you from your sin.

the people i spoke with all had something in common. they all “went up to the altar” or “prayed the sinner’s prayer.” when i asked what had happened to them, i got a mixture of responses, but they all had something else in common- they were not what i had expected.

the majority of them told me that they became a Christian that day when they accepted Jesus as “personal savior.” Not more than a few out of the hundreds i met could tell me what that really meant. they were as clueless about being a true follower of Christ as they had been before they knelt at the altar or prayed the sinner’s prayer. sadly, this is true for so many- there are fewer true disciples of Jesus than there should be.

Why are so many who confessed Jesus as “personal pan savior,” so confused, so deceived, and so far from  being a real Christian?

(1) today, in many churches, we have a church structure Jesus never taught. Nowhere in the New Testament is  there indication that the disciples- the Christians- organized along the lines of the denominations today. Nowhere!

(2) the church in the New Testament was “organic” in nature. One “elder” in the faith- that is, older and more experienced- taught new disciples how to be disciples. There were no degreed professionals who were “in the business of church.” They were concerned about new disciples being disciples, not members. Nowhere in the New Testament will you find the kind of membership taught by the current synagogue-structured church.

(3) Paul states, at one time, that he “admonished the saints daily” for “three years.” He was constantly being sure that they knew what to do, how to do it, and why to do it. Disciples- those who followed after Christ- were active daily in the work of being a disciple.

(3) Nowhere in the New Testament do you read of an altar being present in any of the disciples’ meetings. Never. The whole “come to the altar” at a church building is cultural, not scriptural. 

(4) The testimony of the saints was at the core of their witness. Three separate times in Acts we read Paul’s lengthy testimony as he presents it before those who did not believe. If- like the New Testament disciples- you are surrounded by the testimonies of saints, you will not be confused about the process of becoming a follower of Christ.

(5) Many of today’s “churches” never “require” the convert to repent. Nor does the convert have any idea what that means. In the New Testament, Jesus clearly called all to repent first. All needed to be buried with Christ and then raised with Christ. Being baptized in water and the Holy Spirit. Read the entire New Testament- that is what it says.

It is time to go back to what the New Testament states the church is. Time to throw off the bondage of synagogue-style Churchianity, and embrace Christianity. Time to join the last reformation now spreading one by one throughout the earth.

 

what i lost today

the lost kerryman left the house and headed east with a garbage bag in his back seat. ten miles down the road he found the nearest exit and headed back for the garbage dumpster. and this is how it went today…

if today was a baseball game, it would have been lopsided, catastrophic, and overhwelming. i felt like Paul most of the day- doing things i didn’t want to do. where did i put my brain this morning? it felt like something was lost in translation…

and i believe it was.

the day is too important to rush into an activity without thorough enough prayer. but today i acted like someone wrung my neck and i was off chasing the rest of my body. what i lost was my sense of accomplishment, sense of direction, and finally- my plans. when i returned home, i took a shower, came downstairs, and felt like collapsing on my bed…

but i lost something else…i lost self. that is where i should have started this morning- waiting for an answer instead of running to the car and second guessing. the latter is not part of God’s plans. without a proper start to the day, we run into problems- spiritually and physically…

so, it might have been a rare day, but it was a warning. and now it is a lesson to you as well- never go out your door without knowing exactly what God wants you to day that day…with absolute certainty.

 

  

why Good Friday is a good day to share the good news

every day is a good day to share the gospel. but in the western world, Good Friday may be more than a good day to share the good news.

it is a day for healing…..Jesus bore our sickness on the cross so we can be healed. all disciples of Jesus, living a life pleasing to God, can pray in faith for anyone to be healed and they can be healed. as radical as that sounds, a vast majority of those who say they are Christians do not honestly believe it. But, it is a fact- like the earth is round, the sky is dark at night (unless you live in certain polar regions or under too many city lights), and woman are women and men are men. 

it is a day for telling history…because all of history depends on His story. what a great day for telling about a great day in history.

it is a day for coming to the end of yourself…Jesus conquered sin and death, you cannot. isn’t it time to die to sin and self and rise again with Christ then in your heart?

it is a day to contemplate love…the greatest act of love ever given to any other.

it is a day to give thanks…for without what happened- that day that changed the world- no one on this earth would have any hope.

May God richly bless you this Good Friday…and every good day of the week.

Slan go foill…

 

be wise…not worrying

a young man and i were having a conversation today about working on a barge on the river. he claimed to have taken the controls on one of these barges, even though he had just turned 18 years old.

youth are sometimes brash, giddy with the power of words, and over-express feelings with melodrama or wild assertions. but while this is true, more youth are less forthcoming with what soiled living they engage in.

and so, some worrying parents will say: “be careful!”

what a load of hooey. who in their right mind would want to walk around “full of care?” worrying, as the Bible states, will not add a single hair to your head…and in the process, someone with develop health problems from worrying. instead, we should cast all of our cares on God, our Savior and Lord…if God is our Savior and Lord.

we, like the sailors of old who followed the stars in the night sky, should follow God and leave our cares with Him. Once we have done that, the waters will never be the same again.

at home behind the fence

more often than not, i find myself disturbed by what i see- and read- from most congregations. in these “churches,” big-headed leaders, ordained by a man-centered system, parade around on stage, proclaiming prophetic nonsense and working the crowd like the manager of an automated milking machine. In the audience, the bovine eat what is offered, occasionally stepping in the dung, and moo loudly when the sound around them gets louder and louder. it is in that moment that the poor animal is mesmerized by manipulation beyond his or her spiritual capacity.

In that moment of such ecstasy, heresy is born. And heresy is alive and well in the Western church. 

one of those heresies has long been with many in the Western church- the fence mentality. this heretical church is an organization meant to herd in as many as possible, not gather in the believers. when you look at  the church in the New Testament, the church gathering- the love feast- was not for “seekers,” only disciples. The disciples operated outside the love feasts in spreading the gospel through healing the sick, casting out demons, making disciples, equipping disciples, baptizing the new disciples, and more.

It was in some corner of institutionalism in more recent times that the fence mentality was born. It joined the business model and social marketing as background structures for reigning in the herd and bringing in stragglers. but it also opened the gates to tempt the wild animals to come into the cage…with enticing bait like the prosperity doctrine, machine-gun style prophecy, dramatic scenes akin to a Hindu service (see “kundalini” for just one example of the  practice of failing backward to the carpet, writhing and twitching…and other such nonsense), popcorn and movies, cute coffee and goody bars, welcome packages complete with candy and tissues, committees to make you feel special, and countless endless seminars and retreats…not to mention softball teams, church t-shirts, and the like. Yes, the bait is there for the non-believer standing outside the fence looking in, but also for the captured chosen.

Now you may think I am harsh, but consider what other organization tells you to give at least 10% of your income (and more) to a professional marketer (often also a psychologist/actor) so he or she can build up an income base that he and his or she and her associates can use for “living  expenses;” and build more buildings and sound systems and light shows (instead of following scripture and supporting the widow, orphan, and the poor), put on “evangelistic programs” that cost the faithful a ticket fee…all inside that fence (instead of being real and going out into the world as disciples as it states in Matthew 28).  They will spend your money without giving you a receipt or account of where it goes….and, do it all in the name of “it’s in the Bible.” You certainly would not give to any other charitable organization without them showing you where the money went- but not the churches of Churchianity.

Consider also how these same marketers encourage the herd to keep their bibles closed and read from a screen while the Word of God is twisted to meet the fence mentality heresy. Considering that none of this is in the New Covenant brought by Jesus Christ, it makes you wonder who these big-headed bovine mooers are. Are they Wanna Be Jews? Or, are they part of a heresy that has been established in the West as “church” when in reality being a new religion based primarily on the doctrine of a spiritual aristocracy…Churchianity?

But for you, my dear reader, the question is: do you want to remain behind the fence in this new bondage, or do you want to come out from it, embrace Christ and become a daily-living disciple of Jesus Christ? The world free from the fence, is where the real church operates, the church that will reform the apostacy, and call the heretical to repentance…the church that will be worthy enough to be the bride of Christ because the disciples follow the Master not the manipulator.

 

it is looking brighter all the time

in spite of what my bank account says…in spite of what negative people say…in spite of business forecasts…in spite of being verbally assaulted by whiners, complainers, murmurers, backbiters…in spite of…

it is looking brighter all the time…

 

the waters may be murky, but at least the sun is shining…

so, hope remains

 

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

On this Saint Patrick’s Day, it would be wise for us to take time to reflect on our love for God and our love for people.

Patrick was a great example of a man passionate about his love for God and his love for those who loved God. He went about the Father’s business in Jesus’ name in the power of the Holy Spirit. If we are the elect, are we doing the same? 

Saint Patrick- a complex man?

tomorrow many celebrate the feast day of a Catholic saint the world knows as “Saint Patrick.” But the real Patrick, gleaned from his writings, history, and what he left behind, is different.

First, he was not a Catholic like we think of Catholic. He was a man after God’s own heart, and involved in a church that was not structured like today, nor entirely like the first century church. Separating Patrick from all the Catholic myth, he is definitely not your typical Catholic saint material.

There are three pieces attributed to be from Patrick.

His Epistle to Coroticus is not headline material. But it clearly reveals these things:

• “Saint” Patrick was first and foremost a follower of Jesus
• His life was full of the Word of God, he knew it well.
• He reveals his knowledge of The Word in such a natural way, he has utter confidence in what God says
• He refers to followers of Jesus as baptized- numerous times; he fully believed in the same practice of water baptism as a requirement for salvation as the first century church did, the Baptists do, and those who are involved in the last and final reformation of the church. There is definitely a difference between his view and that of many Protestants and Catholics today.
• He saw himself as a bishop, called and appointed as a bishop by God, whether the British church reognized it or not.
• He believed that those who practiced evil were slaves to sin and could and indeed did have demons within them.
• He did not call himself Roman Catholic, but he called all those baptized holy

• Certainly, this may all be interesting, but we have two other documents written by Patrick as well… 

Patrick’s Breastplate

• He believed in the trinity of God- Father, Son, Holy Spirit

• Now the trouble with the Breastplate is that we have different translations flavored by this or that. But what we do not have is any call on the saints, the Virgin Mary, or any other exclusively Catholic creed.

The Confession

The Confessio is his account of how he was captured as a youth and what happened afterward. In it, we learn new things about Patrick:

• He believed God could do anything.
• The fact that he called “Hellas” when in danger suggests he might have had some Roman superstitions; he was a man, not perfect.
• He had a close relationship to God; God told him when he would be free from slavery- he listened for the voice of God
• He did have some ties to the  established church at the time
• He was made a bishop, but it is confusing whether he was chosen bishop by elders or not
• He was on trial for something he did in his youth before he became a follower of Jesus, but did not defend himself in person
• Some of the text leaves more mystery than answers

In all, these writings reveal a time period and a church that is much different from today and had, indeed, changed some since the earliest church. It is, therefore, difficult for many to form a vision of this man based on only his writings. But one thing we can clearly say about him, he did believe in God and had a very strong faith.

things your pastor never told you: John 3:16

when i hear John 3:16 today, i want to shake my head. it is so misused. few preachers read what comes before or after, and even fewer read the whole passage…when in the assembly of believers. we have many within the church that have learned pieces of a conversation from God to the world….and so have been mislead or left in ignorance to the whole message of the gospel.

Many speakers often fail to tell you:

• the New Testament was not written in chapter and verse- understanding a complete section is as important as understanding the parts- John 3: 16 is a part of a part of a section
• How important it is to follow the complete dialogue between Nicodemus and Jesus in order to understand the complete conversation
• It is important that the reader have a prior knowledge and understanding of the history of Moses and the children of Israel in the wilderness when they rebelled against God and God sent a judgement…and a method of deliverance
• Jesus does give us information on how to enter the kingdom of God, but is not the whole message you get later
• John 3 and the first part of Acts should be read together when you really want to understand “being born again.”

Now, to the section, which lasts from John 3:1 to John 3:21…

A running dialogue:

Nicodemus, a Pharisee, a member of the Jewish ruling council: We know you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs you do, except that God be with him.

Jesus: Unless (except) one is born from above, he cannot be seeing the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus: How can a man be born if he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born again.

Jesus: I tell you the truth, unless a man is born of water and the spirit he cannot be entering the kingdom of God. The thing having been born of the flesh is flesh, and the thing having been born of the spirit is spirit. Don’t marvel- be so surprised- because I told you it is necessary for you to be born from above. The wind blows where it wishes, and the sound of it you hear, but you do not know from where it comes nor where it goes- so it is for everyone having been born of the spirit.

OK, here already Jesus has given us the methodology to be saved- it comes from being “born of water” and “born of the spirit.” 

Later, Jesus states, before John 3:16, that “just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the son of man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

If one goes back to the story of Moses and the disobedient children of Israel, Moses raised a staff with a snake on it to save the people who looked upon the snake- they chose to look upon the snake if they chose to follow God. Likewise, the ones following after God must look upon the Christ on the cross- looking up to him.

Then, the overused scripture is presented…but not until long after Jesus gives us a healthy explanation on part of the plan for saving the world.

So, as you see, John 3:16 would do much better in relation to everything that comes before it.

Jesus came first from the desert temptation saying: Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is near.” This is the “baptism” in the Father, repenting from sin. With it goes baptism in water- dying with Christ and being raised with Christ. Then, as the scriptures say, one can immediately be given the gift- baptism- of the Holy Spirit, which is evidenced by the speaking of different tongues/languages. In John 3, we get a sample preview, but not a whole picture…