Few people know this and probably fewer people even care, but when yours truly was attending Allan Hancock College as a twenty year old sophomore, I announced to one of my teachers my intention to obtain a Ph.D. in Sociology. I even made careful (though completely misguided) plans to chose a California State University Campus that would not require me to change venues during my undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate studies.
The reason I mention that is that in the prerequisite studies for that degree, we learned about microcosms. Microcosm is defined as "A world in miniature." By extrapolation, anything that is a smaller model of something larger could be considered a microcosm. We often say we are in our, "own little world." Our own little worlds intersect each other's "own little world" and the sum of them is a larger world. That really is not quite as confusing as it sounds at first blush. Perhaps it is easier to grasp if we say that our society is made up of each of us individuals coming together to form a larger community. Without stretching the point too far that makes each of us a representation of our culture, society, or community. That is not quite the idea of a microcosm, but I now either have or have not completely lost your attention.
For those of you who are still here, let us consider governmental representatives as a way to understand what we are talking about here. Without mentioning any of them by name, we are represented in various governing bodies by duly elected officials from our geographical area. We have city council people, county supervisors, a state assemblyman and senator as well as United States Senators and a Congresswoman. Each one of them are individuals representative of each of us individually and collectively. They cast votes for various things in our place. They do what we would do if we were there ourselves. (Ok, I know that is not always true, but the point is still valid.)
Now, suppose you are one of those representatives because any one of us very well could be. All it takes is the right political machine and enough money. In fact, I ran for county supervisor in a faraway land, many, many years ago. I got a few votes, but not really enough to cause much of a ripple in the election. The local newspaper did run an editorial saying they did not think I should be allowed to run, but that is another story entirely.
So anyway there is, of course, a point to this exercise. Do you remember the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch? (Acts 11:26) Christian was a derisive term when first applied to those disciples, those followers of Jesus. The people of Antioch were mocking the disciples as people who followed Jesus. Of course, they did not themselves believe that Jesus was the Messiah. What they were saying is that each of those disciples was a little Jesus, a microcosm if you will. When we think about it, that should be considered quite a compliment. Oh to be like Jesus! Talk about influence.
Now, think about what people see when they see you. Do they see Jesus? If they call you a Christian are they saying it derisively or admiringly? Do they notice your love? The Bible tells us that we Christians will be known by our love. (John 13:35) There is a man in my program who is having the most serious struggle I have personally ever witnessed over whether to make Jesus his Lord. He knows he will have to give up something very dear to him because Jesus would not approve. He also looks at Christians and is baffled by the way we sometimes think and act. He sees the contradiction between Bibilcal Christianity and those who call themselves Christian today. Dare I use the term hypocrisy? Perhaps you have run into people like him?
We have to be honest, there is a lot to dislike in the modern church. It often bears little resemblence to what Jesus left upon his ascension. Sometimes we almost want to ask, "What was He thinking when He left the church to sinful men?" If you have read much of this blog you probably expect me to say something like, we need to tap into the spirit more, "...be filled with the Spirit." (Ephesians 5:18) as the scripture says. Actually when read in the original language, the phrase is, "be being filled with the the Spirit." It shows continuing action. Unfortunately, most of us, yours truly included, spend way too much time doing what seems right in our own eyes. How is that working out for you? You may be doing fine on an individual basis, but I will quote my pastor here. "We are trying to move from it's all about me to it's not about me at all." Oh, by the way, I did just say it.
I just heard some great news over my back fence yesterday. Apparently there is a man of some, quiet influence in town who is taking it upon himself to organize some focused prayer activity. I am going to look up an email address for him and send a link to the blog. Will you excuse me? I am pretty sure I hear the Holy Spirit calling.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
The More Things Change
Change is inevitable. We all change. Everything changes. A French philosopher once said, "The more things change, the more they stay the same." Apparently France is different.
I started writing this post over a week ago. At the time, all I had was the title and the paragraph you just read. Sometimes that happens. In fact, right now there are five partially completed posts so do not be surprised if you log on one day and think you are a month behind in your reading. It could happen.
The reason I mention that is that since I started writing this post some significant things have changed and rocked my world a little. Of course I am on top of all that to the point I did not make the connection until about 5:00 AM today. (Yes, I know that last sentence sounds odd to the ear. It is an intentional, rhetorical effect.)
The chaplain at the rescue mission left his job in the middle of the week in something like a mutual decision between him and the director. Maybe I should go back to the weekend before.
Sometimes it is difficult for a dozen, testesterone-laden, self-centered, former drug addicts and alcoholics to live together in close quarters. (Another understatement for affect.) Everyone wants to be the alpha male, or the "cock of the walk" as they say in the fields and farms of the midwest. Anyway a few of the men were having conflicts to the point that one of the staff members called me on Sunday last week to tell me something needed to be done to cool things down or someone was going to get hurt. After some investigation, I decided to let that ride until Monday when we could all sit down together.
We spent about forty five minutes talking around the situation and expressing our denial that anything was really wrong with our relationships. (I am using "our" to relate, but I can sometimes enter into denial when I do not want to deal with an issue too.) I pressed the point that the Central Coast Rescue Mission is a Christian ministry and anyone who did not want to be part of such a ministry should pack up and make a bed available for someone who did. We dismissed without seeming to accomplish much. I later found out the man who had positioned himself as victim had apologized to another man for his attitude. He was shocked when the other man not only accepted his apology, but offered one of his own--and then said he loved him. God does great work even when we do not recognize that anything is happening. The Holy Spirit has to put some roots down into a situation before we see anything happening. Sometimes the deep works are the best.
That was Monday. Tuesday the Thrift Store manager gave her two week notice. Wednesday the chaplain left. I learned to spell "shaking" in second grade. At the time, I did not know something like this fit the definition. What is going on? First of all, let me hasten to say any forthcoming remarks or observations should not be taken as being directed toward anyone or as criticisms of anyone or anything that happened last week.
Sometimes we get complacent. It happens to everyone in every area of life. (I am going to say something important in a minute. You will know what it is when you read it.) We fall into routines. Routines are not bad per se. They help us take little mental breaks so we can focus better when we need to. It is like coasting on a bicycle. We get our heart rate stablized so we are ready for the next incline. The problem comes when we allow the routine to become the norm. When we do that, we soon find ourselves hemmed in on every side by lack of inspiration and purpose. We find ourselves in the proverbial rut.
Here it is. That is exactly what the religious spirit has done in the Santa Maria valley. We have done "business as usual" in the churches for so long, we think it is the way we should be doing things. It has become the norm. And, because the spiritual world has precedence over the physical world, the civil authorities operate the same way, from the courts to the police department, to the school districts, to the various focus groups and task forces that seek to deal with some very serious issues confronting the valley. All those things may have helped, but we still have the problems because we have not brought God's power to bear on them. Listen folks, God so loved the world that He did not send a committee.
Many people believe change starts at the top. We can go with that. The problem is, we do not recognize the top. When I say we, that is all of us. We often look to a pastor, mayor, police chief or other person in some position of real or imagined authority to steer us a different direction. Thank God for those people and what they do for society, but they are not the top. Oh we know who is on top. I wonder why we have made Him irrelevant? Maybe that is not fair? Think about it.
As I said in a previous post, I hammer and hammer and hammer the concept of Spirit, Soul, and Body into the men at the mission. It is my firm belief that when the Spirit of God is working through the redeemed, human spirit, we change. There is no other way. So let me ask a question. When we know we have a problem, why do we sit down and try to reason when we should be worshipping then, "...Position your[our]selves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord who is with you [us]..."? (2 Chronicles 20:17)
We do not need committees and task forces. We do not need to reason together. We need intercessors, prayer teams and prayer walkers. We need to worship God and see Him show Himself mighty on our behalf. We would sometimes make a lot more progress in the spiritual realm if we would just get out of God's way and let him be God.
You do have a part in defeating this religious spirit. May I encourage you in the strongest manner possible to seek God for what your part is and begin to engage? Jesus promised that if we would ask we would receive the answer. (Matthew 7:7) Then come on along. The ride is getting more exciting all the time!
I started writing this post over a week ago. At the time, all I had was the title and the paragraph you just read. Sometimes that happens. In fact, right now there are five partially completed posts so do not be surprised if you log on one day and think you are a month behind in your reading. It could happen.
The reason I mention that is that since I started writing this post some significant things have changed and rocked my world a little. Of course I am on top of all that to the point I did not make the connection until about 5:00 AM today. (Yes, I know that last sentence sounds odd to the ear. It is an intentional, rhetorical effect.)
The chaplain at the rescue mission left his job in the middle of the week in something like a mutual decision between him and the director. Maybe I should go back to the weekend before.
Sometimes it is difficult for a dozen, testesterone-laden, self-centered, former drug addicts and alcoholics to live together in close quarters. (Another understatement for affect.) Everyone wants to be the alpha male, or the "cock of the walk" as they say in the fields and farms of the midwest. Anyway a few of the men were having conflicts to the point that one of the staff members called me on Sunday last week to tell me something needed to be done to cool things down or someone was going to get hurt. After some investigation, I decided to let that ride until Monday when we could all sit down together.
We spent about forty five minutes talking around the situation and expressing our denial that anything was really wrong with our relationships. (I am using "our" to relate, but I can sometimes enter into denial when I do not want to deal with an issue too.) I pressed the point that the Central Coast Rescue Mission is a Christian ministry and anyone who did not want to be part of such a ministry should pack up and make a bed available for someone who did. We dismissed without seeming to accomplish much. I later found out the man who had positioned himself as victim had apologized to another man for his attitude. He was shocked when the other man not only accepted his apology, but offered one of his own--and then said he loved him. God does great work even when we do not recognize that anything is happening. The Holy Spirit has to put some roots down into a situation before we see anything happening. Sometimes the deep works are the best.
That was Monday. Tuesday the Thrift Store manager gave her two week notice. Wednesday the chaplain left. I learned to spell "shaking" in second grade. At the time, I did not know something like this fit the definition. What is going on? First of all, let me hasten to say any forthcoming remarks or observations should not be taken as being directed toward anyone or as criticisms of anyone or anything that happened last week.
Sometimes we get complacent. It happens to everyone in every area of life. (I am going to say something important in a minute. You will know what it is when you read it.) We fall into routines. Routines are not bad per se. They help us take little mental breaks so we can focus better when we need to. It is like coasting on a bicycle. We get our heart rate stablized so we are ready for the next incline. The problem comes when we allow the routine to become the norm. When we do that, we soon find ourselves hemmed in on every side by lack of inspiration and purpose. We find ourselves in the proverbial rut.
Here it is. That is exactly what the religious spirit has done in the Santa Maria valley. We have done "business as usual" in the churches for so long, we think it is the way we should be doing things. It has become the norm. And, because the spiritual world has precedence over the physical world, the civil authorities operate the same way, from the courts to the police department, to the school districts, to the various focus groups and task forces that seek to deal with some very serious issues confronting the valley. All those things may have helped, but we still have the problems because we have not brought God's power to bear on them. Listen folks, God so loved the world that He did not send a committee.
Many people believe change starts at the top. We can go with that. The problem is, we do not recognize the top. When I say we, that is all of us. We often look to a pastor, mayor, police chief or other person in some position of real or imagined authority to steer us a different direction. Thank God for those people and what they do for society, but they are not the top. Oh we know who is on top. I wonder why we have made Him irrelevant? Maybe that is not fair? Think about it.
As I said in a previous post, I hammer and hammer and hammer the concept of Spirit, Soul, and Body into the men at the mission. It is my firm belief that when the Spirit of God is working through the redeemed, human spirit, we change. There is no other way. So let me ask a question. When we know we have a problem, why do we sit down and try to reason when we should be worshipping then, "...Position your[our]selves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord who is with you [us]..."? (2 Chronicles 20:17)
We do not need committees and task forces. We do not need to reason together. We need intercessors, prayer teams and prayer walkers. We need to worship God and see Him show Himself mighty on our behalf. We would sometimes make a lot more progress in the spiritual realm if we would just get out of God's way and let him be God.
You do have a part in defeating this religious spirit. May I encourage you in the strongest manner possible to seek God for what your part is and begin to engage? Jesus promised that if we would ask we would receive the answer. (Matthew 7:7) Then come on along. The ride is getting more exciting all the time!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Overcoming the Forces of Nature--And Nurture
Longtime readers of this blog, and those who actively seek to "be being filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18) know that sometimes the Holy Spirit will speak something that seems disconnected from any other events of life currently in process. Of course I mention that because the title of this post came just like that, randomly, and seemingly unattached to anything else that was going on. Being a substance abuse counselor by profession, I might have thought it had something to do with that, and I am sure it does. However, I believe there is something more to it, something that we can all learn about the forces of nature and nurture.
My siblings and I had a wonderful mother. In fact, if you ask our father, she was not a woman at all, but rather a goddess who walked among mortals. (We would then remind him we never noticed that level of adulation from him while she was alive.) Nonetheless, Mom did have one great failing that ended her life prematurely. She had a nicotine addiction all her adult life. In the end, it resulted in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and multiple myeloma. My wife remarked recently how much Mom would have enjoyed seeing her grandchildren get married and the great-grandchildren that have come from those unions. She had the genes to live well into her 80s judging from her ancestors. Nature would have worked for her, but nurture was just too hard to overcome. We cannot lay the entire rap at her parent's feet. Smoking was something absolutely everyone did at the time she started. That is nurture too after all.
If, as some people think, addictions are hereditary, I, for one, would be at risk by nature and by nurture. One of the things I love about psychologists (check for the placement of my tongue) is that when they have no evidence, a causal link, for something, they make one up. Such is the case with addictions, homosexuality, and just plain contrariness (is that a word?) among other things. Of course there is a causal link in each of those things, sin.
Sin compells us to do things contrary to the nature of God. Each and every one of us has sinned. (Romans 3:23) Sin has been passed down through the human race since the first pair of humans decided God could not possibly mean what He said when He withheld the fruit of one tree from them. News flash, He did! That should settle the argument about nature. Oh, I know it does not really, but it should. It does for me anyway. God did not make you an addict or a homosexual or a dog or a horse. No one has an hereditary disease of alcoholism that compels them to drink. If a person never drinks alcohol, he or she will never become an alcoholic. However, it is not sheer desire or willpower that will deliver anyone from addictions. It takes a new nature. New natures come from new births. New births come only from God through Jesus. (See John 3).
That pretty much leaves us with the issue of nurture. We do know from scientific studies that people who smoke or drink or do drugs are much more likely to have parents who did those things. Obviously, those things were not only tolerated, but demonstrated in the homes where those people grew up. It did not work that way for me, but we do have blood relatives for whom it did. Those problems often have spiritual roots as well, but if I get going on that, most of you will think I have lost my mind. I know this because I recently spilled it all to a group of men and they thought that. Either that, or I just confirmed for them that I sometimes have a very loose grip on reality. My son tells me it is a lot of fun to be easily amused, but I figure why put my mind on hold when I can just let to go to places other people do not. Sorry, back to reality here.
People who study human behavior have sometimes make a big deal of the fact that babies are born grasping with closed fists. They say this indicates a clutching or holding onto things, a self centeredness if you will. Guess what? A baby in the womb is self centered. It does not know anything consciously, but itself for most of those nine months. If it did, gestation would probably be much shorter. I know people who get claustrophobic on enclosed thrill rides. Those are wide open spaces compared to the inside of a uterus. Still, babies are self centered. Some never grow out of it. It is sad to see 40 and 50 somethings who only do what feels good to them. At some point a member of the legal system often tells them that is not the way adults behave and sends them to jail or to a program. Unfortunately, many of them have wasted well over half their lives living a futile existence. Those are the people who get out of their addictions and actually live to tell about it.
Fortunately, overcoming the forces of nurture is not that difficult. You just stop doing what it is you are doing that you don't like. I could end there, but that would leave a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. Most folks think they just cannot quit doing those things. Let me assure you, you can. Oh, I know some people think they do not want to overcome an addiction. Do not even go there with me. Remember what I do for a living? Not wanting to quit does not mean there is no deception going on. However, If you really cannot, it is time to look for deeper, spiritual problems than simple addictions. Maybe it is working out your own salvation with fear and trembling remembering it is God who works in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13)
I still have not figured out why this post is written at this time. Perhaps someone out there knows and can tell me. It does not even sound that inspiring as I read it over, but I think that I have written all I am supposed to.
My siblings and I had a wonderful mother. In fact, if you ask our father, she was not a woman at all, but rather a goddess who walked among mortals. (We would then remind him we never noticed that level of adulation from him while she was alive.) Nonetheless, Mom did have one great failing that ended her life prematurely. She had a nicotine addiction all her adult life. In the end, it resulted in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and multiple myeloma. My wife remarked recently how much Mom would have enjoyed seeing her grandchildren get married and the great-grandchildren that have come from those unions. She had the genes to live well into her 80s judging from her ancestors. Nature would have worked for her, but nurture was just too hard to overcome. We cannot lay the entire rap at her parent's feet. Smoking was something absolutely everyone did at the time she started. That is nurture too after all.
If, as some people think, addictions are hereditary, I, for one, would be at risk by nature and by nurture. One of the things I love about psychologists (check for the placement of my tongue) is that when they have no evidence, a causal link, for something, they make one up. Such is the case with addictions, homosexuality, and just plain contrariness (is that a word?) among other things. Of course there is a causal link in each of those things, sin.
Sin compells us to do things contrary to the nature of God. Each and every one of us has sinned. (Romans 3:23) Sin has been passed down through the human race since the first pair of humans decided God could not possibly mean what He said when He withheld the fruit of one tree from them. News flash, He did! That should settle the argument about nature. Oh, I know it does not really, but it should. It does for me anyway. God did not make you an addict or a homosexual or a dog or a horse. No one has an hereditary disease of alcoholism that compels them to drink. If a person never drinks alcohol, he or she will never become an alcoholic. However, it is not sheer desire or willpower that will deliver anyone from addictions. It takes a new nature. New natures come from new births. New births come only from God through Jesus. (See John 3).
That pretty much leaves us with the issue of nurture. We do know from scientific studies that people who smoke or drink or do drugs are much more likely to have parents who did those things. Obviously, those things were not only tolerated, but demonstrated in the homes where those people grew up. It did not work that way for me, but we do have blood relatives for whom it did. Those problems often have spiritual roots as well, but if I get going on that, most of you will think I have lost my mind. I know this because I recently spilled it all to a group of men and they thought that. Either that, or I just confirmed for them that I sometimes have a very loose grip on reality. My son tells me it is a lot of fun to be easily amused, but I figure why put my mind on hold when I can just let to go to places other people do not. Sorry, back to reality here.
People who study human behavior have sometimes make a big deal of the fact that babies are born grasping with closed fists. They say this indicates a clutching or holding onto things, a self centeredness if you will. Guess what? A baby in the womb is self centered. It does not know anything consciously, but itself for most of those nine months. If it did, gestation would probably be much shorter. I know people who get claustrophobic on enclosed thrill rides. Those are wide open spaces compared to the inside of a uterus. Still, babies are self centered. Some never grow out of it. It is sad to see 40 and 50 somethings who only do what feels good to them. At some point a member of the legal system often tells them that is not the way adults behave and sends them to jail or to a program. Unfortunately, many of them have wasted well over half their lives living a futile existence. Those are the people who get out of their addictions and actually live to tell about it.
Fortunately, overcoming the forces of nurture is not that difficult. You just stop doing what it is you are doing that you don't like. I could end there, but that would leave a bad taste in a lot of people's mouths. Most folks think they just cannot quit doing those things. Let me assure you, you can. Oh, I know some people think they do not want to overcome an addiction. Do not even go there with me. Remember what I do for a living? Not wanting to quit does not mean there is no deception going on. However, If you really cannot, it is time to look for deeper, spiritual problems than simple addictions. Maybe it is working out your own salvation with fear and trembling remembering it is God who works in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13)
I still have not figured out why this post is written at this time. Perhaps someone out there knows and can tell me. It does not even sound that inspiring as I read it over, but I think that I have written all I am supposed to.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Step Up
We keep trying to write about getting to the business of defeating the religious spirit, which is, after all, the overriding purpose of this blog. Somehow it just does not seem to be the right time. That kind of leaves us in a state of wondering what to do now. I do not really have a problem with patience--except when things take a long time to develop. (Yes folks, it's a joke.) Seriously though, it seems as though we are in a holding pattern, a time of rest, the calm before the storm. We could go with all that, but it seems as though no one understands what the real problem is. That is frustrating. It is as if no one recognizes the spiritual strongholds that exist in this valley. They think that by doing the right things, everything will work out. Hello? We do not even have a good concept of how much of the building we are doing is on sand. (Matthew 7:24-27) Wow, that is very interesting. Most of the Santa Maria valley is sand. I am sensing a spiritual lesson there somewhere.
Okay, so if we dissect those verses in Matthew, we know Jesus is talking about building our lives on Him rather than on our concept of what is right. That is a no-brainer. All people who plant churches build on Jesus--do they not? I keep remembering the adage from the church of the 1970s that "Healthy sheep reproduce." Assuming for a moment that is true, there are a lot of churches around that do not have healthy sheep because they have stagnated. What happened? The religious spirit happened. That is what happened. We have no idea how long the religious spirit has been entrenched in this valley. We do know Paul Cain, whom some consider a prophet, believed that this valley was significant in the spiritual realm in the 1940s. As far as we know, he has never made mention of a religious spirit here.
Rather than making assumptions, let us go with what we do know. There has been very little, palpable, spiritual progress made in this valley in the twenty plus years we have been back. To be sure, some new churches have been planted, pastors have come and gone, and small churches have grown. How would one quantify spiritual progress?
When John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask if Jesus were the Messiah, they were told to tell John, "The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those that have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor." (Matthew 11:5) Are those things happening here? They are! Not often, not regularly, but they are. It has been awhile since we have seen any of those things happen, well, maybe with the exception of the good news being preached to the poor, but those other things have happened in the not so distant past. God is working. He breaks through now and again, but seldom enough that some people think it is just accidental or maybe coincidental when it happens. One of the things I have learned from my pastor is that we have more results when we are intentional about what we are doing. I would be hard pressed to believe God is any less than intentional in what He does.
God is at work in the Santa Maria Valley. Make no mistake about that. The principle we sometimes miss is that, in this dispensation, this time period in history, God works through people. He works through His Church which has been bought by the blood of Jesus. That said, He works through ordinary Christians. Some consider it a liability to have a Bible College or Seminary education. We understand that concept. The Bible tells us that, "...Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." (1 Corinthians 8:1 NIV) I had a lot of classes in Bible College and Seminary, but none of them were on love. I received a lot of knowledge from a lot of great men and women, but only the love of Jesus enables us to love. (1 John 4:19 NIV)
Being then enabled to love by His love, all we have to do is put that ability into practice. When I was much younger than I am now, I used to watch the Saturday afternoon baseball games on television. The commentators in those days were Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese, both All-Star players and now members of Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame. One particular Saturday afternoon they were talking about some up and coming young baseball player. Pee Wee said he had a lot of potential. Dizzy said potential is the worst thing a player can have. That did not sound right to me. For some reason that exchange came to mind many years later and I understood what Ol' Diz meant by that. If a person has potential he or she is not yet at peak performance. They can improve. They are underachieving. Hit a lot of you with that one did I not. You know I am not going to take the credit for that. I did not know you needed to hear it. I am not that smart. That was the Holy Spirit who just smacked you, uhhhh, us, in the face.
It is time to step up our game. We have been underachieving for entirely too long. Let me pass along a word of caution here that God gave to Samuel when he was called to anoint the second King of Israel. "...The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7) There is a lot of wasted motion going on in churches throughout this valley. Much of it looks good to man, but God does not have the same opinion. I know I am waxing prophetic here and there is every chance someone will be looking to hand me my head over it, but that has happened to better men than I in the past and will undoubtedly happen again.
We just got back from lunch with a dear couple after church. Not surprisingly this blog came up in conversation along with the whole concept of the religious spirit. It was very comforting to know there are other people who see what is going on in the valley. I was beginning to wonder. God is even now bringing people together from different places geographically and theologically because He wants to see a difference in this valley.
What we must understand is that God has set His hand to do a work here and He will do it. We can either be a part of that or leave it to the next generation, should Jesus tarry, as the previous generation left it to us. (That is an assumption based on the time frame we know. We will update that when/if we get further information.) Wherever God sets Himself to do a work, the devil is right there trying to keep it from happening. This is true whether it be in our individual lives or in our homes, churches, and community organizations. The good news is that, "...When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him." (Isaiah 59:19) As you are probably aware, the original Old Testament manuscripts are written in upper case letters without punctuation. According to some Biblical scholars that verse likely says, "When the enemy comes in, like a flood The Spirit..." Oh folks, the Holy Spirit is wanting to come in like a flood and cover this valley with His presence and power. He is waiting for us. Are you up for a swim?
Okay, so if we dissect those verses in Matthew, we know Jesus is talking about building our lives on Him rather than on our concept of what is right. That is a no-brainer. All people who plant churches build on Jesus--do they not? I keep remembering the adage from the church of the 1970s that "Healthy sheep reproduce." Assuming for a moment that is true, there are a lot of churches around that do not have healthy sheep because they have stagnated. What happened? The religious spirit happened. That is what happened. We have no idea how long the religious spirit has been entrenched in this valley. We do know Paul Cain, whom some consider a prophet, believed that this valley was significant in the spiritual realm in the 1940s. As far as we know, he has never made mention of a religious spirit here.
Rather than making assumptions, let us go with what we do know. There has been very little, palpable, spiritual progress made in this valley in the twenty plus years we have been back. To be sure, some new churches have been planted, pastors have come and gone, and small churches have grown. How would one quantify spiritual progress?
When John the Baptist sent his disciples to ask if Jesus were the Messiah, they were told to tell John, "The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those that have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor." (Matthew 11:5) Are those things happening here? They are! Not often, not regularly, but they are. It has been awhile since we have seen any of those things happen, well, maybe with the exception of the good news being preached to the poor, but those other things have happened in the not so distant past. God is working. He breaks through now and again, but seldom enough that some people think it is just accidental or maybe coincidental when it happens. One of the things I have learned from my pastor is that we have more results when we are intentional about what we are doing. I would be hard pressed to believe God is any less than intentional in what He does.
God is at work in the Santa Maria Valley. Make no mistake about that. The principle we sometimes miss is that, in this dispensation, this time period in history, God works through people. He works through His Church which has been bought by the blood of Jesus. That said, He works through ordinary Christians. Some consider it a liability to have a Bible College or Seminary education. We understand that concept. The Bible tells us that, "...Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." (1 Corinthians 8:1 NIV) I had a lot of classes in Bible College and Seminary, but none of them were on love. I received a lot of knowledge from a lot of great men and women, but only the love of Jesus enables us to love. (1 John 4:19 NIV)
Being then enabled to love by His love, all we have to do is put that ability into practice. When I was much younger than I am now, I used to watch the Saturday afternoon baseball games on television. The commentators in those days were Dizzy Dean and Pee Wee Reese, both All-Star players and now members of Major League Baseball's Hall of Fame. One particular Saturday afternoon they were talking about some up and coming young baseball player. Pee Wee said he had a lot of potential. Dizzy said potential is the worst thing a player can have. That did not sound right to me. For some reason that exchange came to mind many years later and I understood what Ol' Diz meant by that. If a person has potential he or she is not yet at peak performance. They can improve. They are underachieving. Hit a lot of you with that one did I not. You know I am not going to take the credit for that. I did not know you needed to hear it. I am not that smart. That was the Holy Spirit who just smacked you, uhhhh, us, in the face.
It is time to step up our game. We have been underachieving for entirely too long. Let me pass along a word of caution here that God gave to Samuel when he was called to anoint the second King of Israel. "...The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7) There is a lot of wasted motion going on in churches throughout this valley. Much of it looks good to man, but God does not have the same opinion. I know I am waxing prophetic here and there is every chance someone will be looking to hand me my head over it, but that has happened to better men than I in the past and will undoubtedly happen again.
We just got back from lunch with a dear couple after church. Not surprisingly this blog came up in conversation along with the whole concept of the religious spirit. It was very comforting to know there are other people who see what is going on in the valley. I was beginning to wonder. God is even now bringing people together from different places geographically and theologically because He wants to see a difference in this valley.
What we must understand is that God has set His hand to do a work here and He will do it. We can either be a part of that or leave it to the next generation, should Jesus tarry, as the previous generation left it to us. (That is an assumption based on the time frame we know. We will update that when/if we get further information.) Wherever God sets Himself to do a work, the devil is right there trying to keep it from happening. This is true whether it be in our individual lives or in our homes, churches, and community organizations. The good news is that, "...When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will raise up a standard against him." (Isaiah 59:19) As you are probably aware, the original Old Testament manuscripts are written in upper case letters without punctuation. According to some Biblical scholars that verse likely says, "When the enemy comes in, like a flood The Spirit..." Oh folks, the Holy Spirit is wanting to come in like a flood and cover this valley with His presence and power. He is waiting for us. Are you up for a swim?
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