Mister Congeniality

i have never won an award for candor, comedy, or confusion…but i am sure that my followers might consider me for a “Mister Congeniality” award. Or, maybe not. 

You see, trying to live a life as a disciple of Jesus sometimes ruffles feathers, steps on toes, and irritates people. But, to be fair, I have had my share of pains in the rectal sphere of influence over the course of my life. It has been a rough ride at times, and God has always seen me through or even allowed me to rise above the blazing saddle.

And like a whole lot of other authors on wordpress, I have plenty I could complain about…starting with that lack of a female companion…due to the stupidity of certain members of the opposite gender who will remain nameless, and who, like Mrs Boring, have probably crapped their collective pants over their incredibly obtusely proportioned decision-making skills.  But, I will not dwell in the dungeons of despair. No, I will not sink to the depths of depression. 

No, I have not suffered such terrible troubles that my life is a collected book of woe, a compendium of compromise, or a trilogy of tragedy. In this blessed and wonderful life of mine, I have not ever….

(1) Fallen off a log, hitting my head and forgetting my name…then returning to Salem, looking like another guy and falling in love with the woman my alter ego was married to before I hit my head and forgot everything…and then became a state department spokesman…

(2) Electrocuted my private part “palace” while trying to fix my acid-filled battery because my car stopped in the middle of a turn only lane…

(3) Exploded in spontaneous combustion after ingesting 1,000 tablets of cinnamonn bark extract tablets because they may lower my blood sugar 15%. (But did you know you can save 15% on your car insurance by marrying the GEICO CEO’s daughter?)

(4) Lost consciousness when a 20 ton stack of Jack Links Beef Jerky fell on my head while searching for a missing “teenage stock boy” in the WalMart storage labyrinth (complete with rows of Mogen David wines and the most revolting Sherry and cologne-like Brandy ever to don the shelves of any grocery facility….or, as Alex Trebek might say “What is Catholic Purgatory?”)

(5) Had my fingers eaten by a frothing, two-fanged dog while being chased by a flock of rebellious Amish goats down a one lane mud track beyond a sign painted with the words “Welcome to the Eli E.Y.B.Z Yoder’s”

(6) Been chased by a one-toothed hag around the outside of a 24 X 200 barn, while holding a clipboard and a measuring wheel. 

(7) Sat my buttocks down on a pile of freshly chewed gum because the sign said…

No, lads and lassies…thankfully, I have been spared such audacious trauma… 

 

 

Misplaced vision

To my “brothers and sisters” in the churches who have embraced the Mosaic Law, putting people into bondage in tithes, Jewish feasts, and 600 other laws, while saying they are living in the New Covenant:

Stop swimming in a hole in the Old Testament, and start living in the New! If you have decided to follow Jesus, there is no turning back- Jesus fulfilled the Mosaic Covenant. So, why do you want to mix the two? Why do you want to blur the message of the gospel…because that is exactly what you are doing when you try to grocery shop from the covenants.

If you call yourself Christian, and desire to please God, then it is time to know and walk out what Jesus Christ said for you to do…as long as you are truly a disciple of Jesus.

 

Rightly dividing The Word Of Truth: Back to a verse-less Bible

Hey, I wrote this for people to read. So..here it is again.

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.

 

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…

 

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.

 

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…

things your pastor never told you: 3,000 baptisms in one day

If you read my last post, you know that the prescription for becoming a Christian is listed in the book of Acts.

John 3:16, the most quoted verse in The Western World, is in a series of verses that should be read together with some understanding of the Old Testament, or it is likely to be misunderstood…which is one reason we have “John 3:16 Christians” living in sin and who will die and go to Hell.

But back to Acts. After a very large crowd of people heard disciples of Jesus speaking in tongues, and Peter preached the gospel to them, many asked him what they should do. Peter replied, in the Imperative:

     (roughly translated from the Greek NT) You repent, and let each of you be baptized, upon (into) the name of Jesus Christ, with a view to forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Then, Peter went on, warning them, including telling them they should “be saved from this perverse generation.”

The response was: (again roughly from the Greek NT): The ones welcoming his word were baptized, and there were added in that day about three thousand souls; and they were continuing steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles and in the fellowship, in the breaking of the loaf and in the prayers. Acts 2:41,42

Now the passage above is in one sentence. However, many translations to English changed the ; to a period. The Bible was not originally written in verses (I’ll explain that another time).

But what I want to focus on here is the fact that about 3,000 people were baptized in one day. You were probably taught that it was the apostles doing all this baptizing. Uh, do the math…3,000 divided by 12, with maybe a short break for bread and olive oil and some wine…I’m no math whiz, but 270 or more people per disciple in most of one daylight day? Are you crazy? Even if the 120 mentioned in Matthias’ selection (early book of Acts) were present, that is still only 132 people to baptize about 3,000 people.

But you would be ignoring the semicolon. It is easy to explain who did it. The whole verse explains that the ones being baptized followed the teachings of the apostles, which means that once they were baptized fully, they baptized others: one repented, was baptized, received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and then followed the teachings of the apostles by then leading another repenter in the same process! How unlike today when you see so-called “christian” leaders lording over everyone that no one else can do anything. That practice is a lie from the pit of Hell, and it is obvious from this scripture here what we are to do once we are Christians. What a difference from the old institutionalized “church!”

So, that is how about 3,000 were baptized and added to the Kingdom of God in one day.

you have just been exposed

in the so-called dark ages, the established institutional church went on a campaign to gather “tithes” from peasants, often depriving them of their daily bread and butter, and even causing loss of life. so, when the Protestants came railing against abuses within that institutional body, they sounded genuinely sincere. But after some time, they too began to demand money from the poor in order to propagate their beliefs throughout the world. But to appease their God, or so they thought, they sacrificed monies toward that institutional body while the heathens perished en masse. Only an enlightened minority carried out more of the tenants of the actual faith. Such was the tale of many of the commoners within the church for many centuries.

And then a spark came to change that…or so it appeared. yet even that group fell into building programs and storing up treasures on earth. You could say that the recent megachurch and telechurch is the best example of this climax, where a twisted old testament doctrine and greed and obstinancy meet in a trinity of heresy.

These bodies of faith profess to be Christian, lead by glamorous leaders. These kings of this alternative Christendom, what some label “Churchianity,”  have become worshipful masters of deceit, controlling commoners and those with wealth alike…exacting from the faithful great sums of money and allegiance that would make any post-medieval pope look saintly in comparison. They launch crusades of greed to fund their empires while promising uncountable blessings, as if they alone have the power to create such blessings. 

These blessings come when a “church member” contributes at least 10% of his or her gross financial income to the workings of the organization. This is supported by dubious text within the Bible, particularly old covenant law designed to feed, clothe, and furnish the Levites and those religious costs associated with operating a Jewish religious organization.

While this is certainly not new, the fact is that there are many within the institutionalized church who are using these tactics to maintain the institutions of Churchianity- church property, church events, church t-shirts and the like. While this is not evil in itself, threatening the flock with a $5,000 offering or “we’re not going to make it” is obscene. Who told these leaders that sinking money into expanding the light system so it rivals any megaconcert is what Jesus commands us to do? Or, the sound system. Or a multimillion dollar gymnasium so “kids can play basketball.” This, all in the name of a God who told us to go out and make disciples of all nations, not to go out and build buildings with denominational names on them. It nauseates me the more I see the truth of the real gospel as it is written within the pages of the New Testament.

So, I challenge any “church leader” to find for me, in the New Testament, scriptures that exhort us to:

1. Pay a tithe so… that the light bill for a physical structure is paid, so that a heating system costing hundreds of dollars can house some people three or four times a week while the homeless freeze to death outside, so you can build a glorious sound system or shock and awe light show, so the pastor and wife…I mean pope and his mistress…can go on vacation for two weeks while the rest of your congregation works hard to pay bills and cannot afford any vacation, so the building can grow while thousands outside your door do not hear the true gospel from within the pages of the Bible…and you did nothing physically to share with them.

2. Create a membership roll like what might be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. A member can be controlled. A “church” will report every last cent that member puts in the offering plate…hmmm, is that somewhat different from the exhortation to give cheerfully…making sure the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing? 

3. Build a Kingdom of Buildings…and be a comfortable, safe place where you can follow a ritualistic program complete with “liturgy.” What liturgy? From whom? Who are you emulating?

4. Hold revivals to get people “slain” in the spirit. Funny thing, that “slain.” If you read the word of God, every time people fell backward it was because of judgment. No, people seeking God fell forward, prostate- on the ground or floor- in humility, not shaking like a idiot with half a brain.

5. Preach a gospel that states that a person just needs to pray the sinner’s prayer…and then everything after that doesn’t matter, as long as they are convinced in their minds that they are saved, then they are saved. Nevermind about sinning after that….

I have news for you. If you have been living a lie, comfortable in your cocoon of Churchianity, you are about to be exposed. You who believe there is no need to be concerned about sin because God is always smiling down on us…wait till you come face to face with the truth. The Word states that you will know the truth and the truth will make you free. Don’t you think it is time to be honest with yourself, your congregation, and God? We don’t have time for this alternative church, we have a job to do- we have to actually put our love to action and do what Jesus told us to do. 

a moment of truth

you walk into an auditorium jammed with people…randomly wandering…you look to your left and you spot a lone girl- with intensely straight hair- smiling…not sure what she is smiling at, your gaze looks forward to a stage with a thin, long-faced man in his 30’s crisply pronouncing “Check. Check. Check….” over a sound system loud enough to hear over an airplane take-off…

there are plenty of seats, except all the ones that are “tagged” with clothing articles. the seats remain empty. you feel a strange vibration…then realize the sound system is working. a middle aged woman with a retail-style badge passes with a smile- but the smile is not directed at you…it looks vacuous, like she is remembering a roasting turkey on a holiday platter…

another figure passes as you stand in an aisle, not sure what to do. a few older couples sit down in a far section to your right. down front, a man with a newscaster-quality camera pans an imaginary audience, then lowers the mechanism. sound check man is piercing the corners of the building. a screen above the stage begins a count down. a few teenagers scuttle into seats toward the front, and more people gather towards that stage. looks of expectation. you cannot turn away from their looks, you wonder what it is they fear…or wait for…

the lights dim and a fog spills out from above. it begins to shroud the musicians on stage who begin playing an acoustic string of unfamiliar notes. warm violet, yellow, red, and blue lights rain down through the fog-rays, and you sense a rush toward several seats. one bangs into a seat trying to maneuver around a pile of winter wrappings. everyone is finding a seat. you walk down the aisle…toward the front.

sudden energy in the room, fog density increasing, you sniff the air. it can’t be…but it is…perfume. it permeates the large auditorium, mixing incongruously with the sounds eminating from the stage. more reddish-purple lights…any moment now you expect to see Gene Simmons appear on stage and the KISS sign to flash on the large banner screen behind…

it is starting, whatever it is. a drumbeat that matches your heart- or rather trumps your beat- shakes the room. a crowd of people inhabit the seats you just perused- where did they come from? you try to find a seat inside the draped-chair rows, asking “is this seat taken?” you get replies of a nod and a stern look. then you find one. you pray you do not have to urinate anytime in the next two hours. it is a silent head prayer, with your mouth open, and your neck craning to take in all the sights- like suddenly finding yourself in Times Square. and then the music rises, and the crowd yells, and you feel like the concert is beginning…

it is a song you have never heard before, but sounds very familiar. the beat literally affects your balance and you sense it going through your body. then you realize the floor- a massive concrete floor- is vibrating as well. you look toward the stage, but in your obscured partial view. a woman is bouncing up and down, singing…then shrieking. you hear a roar. the massive wave like at a football match…it seems to overwhelm, flood many, but you sense nothing…and then the fog starts lifting, the perfume lingers, and bright noise fills every cavity left, and there is no escape…

it is a simplistic song, but confusing. you try to piece together the meaning that others are shout-singing with as much gusto as a Superbowl touchdown. someone in front of you collapses into their chair…you can see the mosh pit before the stage. one person is whirling in a dance, another looks like a picture from the wailing wall, but most are gyrating to the music…or bouncing like the Tigger-figure on stage…

the noise is nearly deafening now, you have to sit down to regain your balance. you sit there and try to make sense of it all. but…your mind begins to wander…as the auditorium rocks. you imagine a dusty roadside…you look out at the stage and see the yellow lights..and you think of that day…you remember a lonely figure, sitting along a dusty road, then look again at the stage. a woman with a sweat-drenched face and  an intense grimace belts out the rest of the song as a chorus of followers shout…and you think back to that figure, stooping down, writing in the dust, as the stones fall from the startled faces around you…and you imagine it is you there…as the figure comes closer and stares deeply in your eyes- but all you see is peace…and love…

until the throng, in soccer/football style chant “whoa-ohhhh,” and you forget where you are. you forget where you are…you think back to those gentle, but serious, eyes…and nothing is the same again.

…so you walk through the doors as the audience chants, the beat pounds at the double doors, and the smell of perfume slips out under the door…and you walk alone, toward your vehicle, and home…

and sitting in your vehicle, you look up at the cross on top of the building, and shake your head, and remember the figure with the gentle eyes…