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Tag Archives: Word of God


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Church Social Clubs

Church Social Clubs

 

Most of us are familiar with the social club mentality of many churches; extravagant entertainment, feel-good programs, focus on busyness, and messages that are a self-improvement book covered in Christian lingo.

Our knee jerk reaction is that being a glorified social club is wrong. However, with some further thought, I think what we all need to realize, especially if we are in a church, is that all churches are social clubs.  It is a healthier and safer viewpoint because that is the extent of what they provide; encouragement, support, connections, activities, and stimulating conversations. The problem is that people want and look to them as a source of truth, to enhance their relationship with God, to bind their wounds, to give them freedom, to bring peace, hope and rest to their lives; all the things that only truly come from cultivating intimacy with God in His truth, His Word.

However, churches appear to be gladly taking on this other role, which is outside the scope of their abilities, because when people are dependent on you it is good for business.  Even with good intentions, trying to be what they can’t misleads people and destroys souls. I was such a soul.  Our souls starve because we mistakenly rely on the wrong one for true life.  God and His Word is the fountain of truth which brings true life. Churches are a reservoir of people’s interpretations, doctrines, rules and regulations with some truth sprinkled in.  Many people end up worse off than when they started because they don’t realize they are hanging out at the wrong watering hole and thinking they have arrived at truth they stopped looking.

The majority of Christians are not living the abundant life that Jesus Christ came to give because they are relying on other broken people when they need to rely on God. People try to get out of teachers, pastors, leaders, programs, and ministries what they should be seeking from God and churches reinforce their warped dependency in what they don’t say, in what they praise and what they encourage.

As I read the New Testament, it seems clear that truth and an intimate relationship with God which brings abundant life come from time with Him in the Holy Scriptures being taught by the Spirit. (John 14:26, 1 Corinthians 2:12-13, 1 Corinthians 15:34, 1 John 2:27, 2 Timothy 2:15, 7, 2 Timothy 3: 14-15.) Yet this truth is often overlooked and people continue to give fallible humans, who are trying to figure it out just as they are, God’s role.

Churches are playing a role that they weren’t meant to play.  If we openly acknowledge and call church what it is, a social club, then maybe we will start heading in the right direction; looking to our God not man for truth and life. Even then we need to be very careful and aware of churches’ influence over our thinking, beliefs and lives.

 


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Church Sedation

 Church Sedation

 

The other morning I was thinking . .  how many times do we hear from fellow believers or out of our own mouths wasn’t that a great teaching or a good sermon? But was it truth?  It may have been entertaining and made us feel good, but was it truth? They may have read a passage from the Bible, but their opinions, philosophies, interpretations of the scripture, but was it truth?  We are instructed to test all things preached, taught, or spoken of but now many of us honestly do that? If we do test what are actually testing it by; our intuition, gut, or someone else’s teaching?  True testing is done by the Word so that means we have to be consistently in the Word and put it above all others. The Bible is our foundation and not man’s words because it is the source of pure unadulterated truth.

1 Corinthians 14:29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge

1 Thessalonians 5:21 Test all things; hold fast what is good

1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world

 Before I spent one-on-one time with God, just His Word and me, I relied on my own discernment, not a good idea. But when I started to spend that time, layer by layer He started to unveil the real truth. I was amazed by all the lies I believed that I learned in a religious institution or setting. How could I have been so mislead? There are lots of reasons, but one stood out – the power of feeling good.

Sedating my guilt, putting my time in with God for the week, looking good to those around me, feeling like a good person, people accepting and liking me were a lot of the reasons why I went to church – when I am brutally honest with myself. Who doesn’t like to feel good about themselves? But all those are the wrong reasons first because no one is good, so why was I trying to prove I was and second focusing on these blinded me to the truth. My motives got in the way of taking time to be in God’s word and testing what I heard. Ultimately I was focusing on me instead of getting to know my God. Many things are good, until they are used or done for the wrong reasons. Then what was intended for good can become damaging.

Luke 18:19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God

The other day, I read an article on the power of praise.  Praise of others and others making us feel good are very powerful and they can blind us if we aren’t careful. That’s why love can be so blinding. Nothing and no one is perfect but God and His Word, He is the source of truth and of our beliefs.  I think it is good practice to carefully examine our motives now and then so we stay clear headed to be discerning as we are called to be. Now, I often ask, why am I really doing this?

Proverbs 14:15 The simple believes every word, But the prudent considers well his steps

John 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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Beyond the Literal Meaning

Beyond the Literal Meaning

 

After I posted my blog on women and angels, I read a response by Monte Wolverton and Greg Albrecht at Plain Truth Magazine to a woman’s question about the same chapter, 1 Corinthians 11.

I enjoy many of their comments, but they stopped short on this issue. Though what they said may be true about the culture and beliefs at the time, I believe everything in the Word is for us today because I believe everything has an underlining spiritual meaning and purpose. If we don’t look beyond a cultural explanation we miss the deeper spiritual truths.

The Word is living, complex, layer upon layer, symbolic and everlasting. It is not a just a book of historical events that we can learn from or a set of rules for good living – that’s the least of what it offers. It is alive and spirit that transforms our souls and deepens our communion with God. Hebrews 4:12

God’s Word isn’t straightforward. There are physical layers covering spiritual layers. It’s that way because what God says in the Word is not for the world but for those whom He has chosen to draw near. Matthew 13:11 The spiritual truths are hidden so that for His chosen they are revealed by the Spirit and to others they remain concealed. Symbolism is a tool that God uses to accomplish this purpose. When believers don’t seek beyond the illustration they not only miss out on the deeper truth but also can end up acting from a carnal mindset living by the law instead of a spiritual mindset living by grace.

It is the spiritual realm lying beneath the physical words that is the real treasure that brings freedom and life. Sometimes we have to wait for years to understand a passage because this deeper truth only comes by revelation of the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:14 But the truths are there to be discovered by you and me who have the Holy Spirit to teach us all things. Our part is to ask and to seek.

God’s Word is alive, pure, and eternal, so the question to any passage is why is it included? Why is it in His Word that lasts throughout the ages?

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

Understanding the physical shadows the spiritual is especially pertinent when it comes to women, because over the years the illustration has been exploited. What was meant as a teaching tool has been used to dominate and oppress women to the harm of both women and men. When one is harmed both are.

The Word tells us not to get hung up on the illustrations. Like in 1 Corinthians 11:16 where it says that whether you have the customs of head coverings or not it doesn’t matter. What matters is if we understand the spiritual truth that we all need to be covered in Jesus’ righteousness. Ephesians 5:32-33 emphasizes a similar thing, be spiritually minded not carnal. Living out the spiritual truth should be our focus.

This manner of digging deeper is important for any passage. When we seek truth at this level we live in truth, faith, grace and love. Go deep into all passages and don’t give up, because that is where the treasures lie.

 


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Leaving Organized Religion

Leaving Organized Religion

Part II

 

Why outside the church system? Because it has become something other than what it was intended to be. Starting out with a pure motive and purpose, two thousand years later the church has grown into a host of things that it wasn’t meant to be like it did with the Pharisees when Jesus walked this earth. At the core, it has become man’s trusted haven instead of God. It is depended upon to nourish the soul, comfort the spirit, provide truth, and protect the soul among other things. Yet beneath the smiles, hugs, and jovial community, in general it has become a business that feeds on the souls of those who enter its doors, which I think many leaders are blind to. Those inside are spiritually starving, hurting, sick and depraved. Isaiah 1:6-9, Jeremiah 8:10-11, Jeremiah 5. With hearts deceptively wicked we have an incredible ability to justify and rationalize what is going on. Jeremiah 17:9 It is hard to see clearly when you are in the midst of the fog.

As I read the Old and New Testament, one thing is clear; God does not tolerate idolatry, putting our trust in something other than Him. No one perfectly trusts God, but as His children we should be moving toward trusting Him alone. Faith without works is dead. If we want to trust Him then our actions will be; abiding in His pure truth, making time in His Word a top priority, putting His Word above others, and relying on Him as our teacher not man – all the actions that take us to our goal. Our actions reveal where our faith is, in man or God. It isn’t about having all the right answers, but about putting God first. Only God and His Word is pure unadulterated truth. The rest of us are mere men trying to figure it all out. I want to rely on the One who knows, how about you?

Psalm 9:10 And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.

Our trust comes from knowing Him and knowing comes from abiding and drawing near to God.

When it comes down to it, what most people in the church believe is based on some man’s philosophy and interpretation of the Word. This is exactly what I did and I knew many just like me. We didn’t fully agree with any one leader but we combine a host of them together and that formed our truth. Having been solely in the Word now for several years the difference is clear. I use to rely on others to tell me what I believed, which they supported by a couple of verses. I wasn’t abiding in the Word so there was no way to test what they said, as the Word instructs us. I trusted what I felt my deceptively wicked heart resonated with. Let me tell you, it was off on many accounts. It matters what comes first, the Word of God or the word of man.

I thought I trusted God, but when I honestly examined what I believed and why, I found most of it originated with man. But I was doing what the masses did and believed so it must be true, right? How about the masses that killed Christ? Masses are known for being deceived and easily misled. With the numerous warnings from Christ and Paul about false prophets, teachers, angels of light, and that many will be lead astray we are in a dire situation if we are relying on any man. Where are the priests, prophets, teachers and ministers? In the churches. It is interesting how the Word is available to just about all nations when we need it the most because deception increases with time. God always provides. He has given us everything we need, His Spirit, His Truth, and Him. We are called to trust Him above all others.

Having once trusted man, I see where that road leads and it isn’t good. I grew up in the church. According to each preacher I heard I was living the life of a Christian. The only thing that mattered is that I had accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. But one problem, He wasn’t Lord I was. Jesus can’t be divided. If He was my Lord, I would have put my trust in Him. As a result, for years I lived in lack, not experiencing abundant life, trapped in afflictions, without God, without power, yet with all that I never questioned my walk. After all, my life looked like everyone else’s. The church provided me with a false comfort. It led me to believe I had life when I didn’t. Therefore, it stole my life. Isaiah 5:7, Jeremiah 6:6 With the church and man’s words as the foundation of my truth, my house was built on the sand.

As a whole the church system has brought distance between the believer and God rather than closeness. And because most tie the church to God they don’t see what is happening nor question it. My heart pains me because I see many on the road that I once was on. They are living in depravity when the fountain of life is right before their eyes. Their trust is in the wrong place.

We need to take an honest look at ourselves and not be afraid of what we might see because that is the first step to finding the truth.