One of the things about writing a blog is that one sometimes runs out of space before finishing the subject at hand. I have also been accused of writing too much in each post. The man who made that criticism also implied that he and his associates have a better idea of what God was calling me to do than I do. I assume you can tell, that did not slow us down too much.
In the first part of this message, we mentioned hearing Tom Demaree speak in a Sunday morning service at a local church. His message for the morning, at the pastor's request, centered around the joy of leading people to Jesus. He used an acrostic for the word "harvest" as his outline. Obviously we do not have room to detail that teaching here. It was a good message. I even took notes, which is unusual in itself. I have never been a great note-taker so when I take notes I often miss the next thing that is said. It seems easier to just listen carefully in the first place.
T0m is a man who carries a prophetic calling. He does not make an issue of it. He simply goes about the work God has called him to do. He did mention during his teaching for the morning that God has given him favor in different places and he told of some of the things he has done and will do should Jesus tarry. He said favor is better than talent. Tom is also a man most of us would consider to be gifted. His intelligence gained him scholarships to study medicine at the University of California, but he decided medicine was not what he wanted for his life's work. Shortly thereafter, he talked to a record producer who wanted to sign him to a contract. He nixed that idea as well. I do not know about you, but I do not even think in terms of that kind of intellect and talent.
To shorten the story just a bit, Tom was born-again shortly after declining the record contract. One of the very first things he was told to do as a Christian, was to call a woman he knew, in the wee hours of the morning, to tell her Jesus loved her. He tried to talk himself out of it, but was unsuccessful. He made the call sometime after 3:00 AM as she was about to swallow a lethal dose of sleeping pills. (Are you kidding me?) That is the stuff devotionals and those sweet, viral emails are made of.
When the pastor dismissed the service, I had to make a pit stop so I excused myself. When I returned to the sanctuary, I was not at all surprised to find my wife, face-to-face, and engaged in conversation with Tom. I joined the conversation which went on for ten minutes or more, with us standing in the sanctuary, between services. I cannot go into great detail about all he told us, but he did give us confirmations about what we are doing in challenging the religious spirit in the Santa Maria Valley. (Which is the whole basis for this blog.) He noted there is a discernible difference in the spiritual climate on either side of the river that divides Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. (We were standing in San Luis Obispo county at the time.) He mentioned instances where he had personally seen the differences manifested in church leadership.
Of course I have no idea what it means to you when someone confirms for you that you are indeed on the right path. It nearly brought tears to my eyes. (Well, okay, they got moist, but we were in church in a face-to-face conversation so I choked them back.) It is especially meaningful when many others are not so quick to agree and even less than congenial in their relationships toward you because of your calling.
I did not even know I needed confirmation, but the Holy Spirit recently caused me to see the reality of the situation. The people the Lord has drawn around me are specifically here because they believe in the mission we are on. They are as convinced as I am that God has ordained and is leading it. In my spirit, I know I have the favor of God and according to a word He gave me over twenty years ago, it is beginning to manifest. To have a confirmation now and again, from someone outside the situation, is a blessed thing--whether I feel as though I need it or not.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Serendipitous Coincidences
In the previous post, we discussed a chat on Face Book that we considered to be almost random. I particularly enjoy randomness. We all have stories of things that just seemed to happen out of nowhere and for no apparent reason. We variously refer to them with words such as chance, luck, good fortune, serendipity or coincidence, among others. The question is, are they really any of those things?
Let us quote a couple world-class Theologians as we begin this discussion. The late Dr. Harold in his 1974 book, How to Live Like a King's Kid defines coincidence as, "When God performs a miracle and chooses to remain anonymous." Television detective Barnaby Jones, played by Buddy Ebsen, said, "I find the harder I work, the luckier I get." Of course we see the truth in both those statements, but again, do things really just happen or is there a creative intelligence behind everything? We choose to believe the latter. That, is in no way, intended to advance the idea that we do not have a part in what happens in our lives and in the lives of those we touch as we tread this sod. It is interesting that, depending on which translation of the Bible one is using, either case can almost be made.
Romans 8:28 tells us, "And we know all things work together for good..." (KJV), or "And we know that in all things God works for the good..." (NIV) The first translation almost suggests randomness while the second shows God actively working. The position one takes on this point will determine how one's life is lived. One either goes about life hoping God will be working everything out or lives life intentionally partnering with God in doing His work. The second position here is the one that demonstrates Jesus is Lord of one's life rather than simply an actor in it. This is a critical distinction because Jesus said, "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." (John 14:21) If we want to experience God in our lives, we must do what He says.
Yesterday, we were deciding where we would attend Sunday services. Since we lead and teach on Saturday evenings, and since Jesus has not yet placed us in a local church, we have been fellowshipping at various different places on Sunday mornings. I had already decided where we should attend when I remembered they were having a different kind of service that I was not entirely thrilled to be a part of. My wife suggested another church which we had visited before. I was only slightly more thrilled to return there. My being less than thrilled had nothing to do with the fellowship, teaching, worship or the people at that church. I just doubt that is where we will be attending long-term.
Off we went. When we found our seats, we noticed the pastor was not the person wearing the microphone for the service. In fact, we recognized the man who was wearing it as Tom Demaree of Pentecost Walk fame. We had become acquainted with Tom and his wife Deanna when they were in the area leading a prayer walk. We have mentioned him previously in these pages. If you would like more information on Tom's ministry you can find some at www.pentecostwalk.org.
I have no doubt the pastor of that church would have delivered a good message, but we both knew we were in that service because Tom and Deanna were there. (Be sure to read the next post. We will mention a couple things Tom told us personally.) We were experiencing a serendipitous coincidence. I would have believed my wife had the mind of the Holy Spirit when she suggested we attend there, but for a statement I had heard Dr. Jack Hayford make many years ago. He said. "Everyone knows God cannot talk to you through your wife." (Need I tell you it was obviously a tongue-in-cheek remark? And by the way, so was the last one I made.)
One thing I have learned fairly recently is that we can do things intentionally or accidentally. There is a creative intelligence behind everything we perceive with our senses, and all the things we do not. Everything in the universe, from creation to the present, has been done with intention and purpose. Perhaps you have been "tossed around" (Ephesians 4:14; James 1:6) either by bad teaching, a lack of faith, or both. It is time for that to stop! If things are not going the way you would like, seek the wisdom of God to discover if you have either not been intentionally doing the right things or perhaps even intentionally doing the wrong things. Either of those will stifle your maturity, mitigate your growth, and reduce you to living a life where you do not recognize the hand of God at work. In short, you will not be able to live the abundant life Jesus promised you. (John 10:10) Any good things that happen will look like serendipitous coincidences.
Let us quote a couple world-class Theologians as we begin this discussion. The late Dr. Harold in his 1974 book, How to Live Like a King's Kid defines coincidence as, "When God performs a miracle and chooses to remain anonymous." Television detective Barnaby Jones, played by Buddy Ebsen, said, "I find the harder I work, the luckier I get." Of course we see the truth in both those statements, but again, do things really just happen or is there a creative intelligence behind everything? We choose to believe the latter. That, is in no way, intended to advance the idea that we do not have a part in what happens in our lives and in the lives of those we touch as we tread this sod. It is interesting that, depending on which translation of the Bible one is using, either case can almost be made.
Romans 8:28 tells us, "And we know all things work together for good..." (KJV), or "And we know that in all things God works for the good..." (NIV) The first translation almost suggests randomness while the second shows God actively working. The position one takes on this point will determine how one's life is lived. One either goes about life hoping God will be working everything out or lives life intentionally partnering with God in doing His work. The second position here is the one that demonstrates Jesus is Lord of one's life rather than simply an actor in it. This is a critical distinction because Jesus said, "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." (John 14:21) If we want to experience God in our lives, we must do what He says.
Yesterday, we were deciding where we would attend Sunday services. Since we lead and teach on Saturday evenings, and since Jesus has not yet placed us in a local church, we have been fellowshipping at various different places on Sunday mornings. I had already decided where we should attend when I remembered they were having a different kind of service that I was not entirely thrilled to be a part of. My wife suggested another church which we had visited before. I was only slightly more thrilled to return there. My being less than thrilled had nothing to do with the fellowship, teaching, worship or the people at that church. I just doubt that is where we will be attending long-term.
Off we went. When we found our seats, we noticed the pastor was not the person wearing the microphone for the service. In fact, we recognized the man who was wearing it as Tom Demaree of Pentecost Walk fame. We had become acquainted with Tom and his wife Deanna when they were in the area leading a prayer walk. We have mentioned him previously in these pages. If you would like more information on Tom's ministry you can find some at www.pentecostwalk.org.
I have no doubt the pastor of that church would have delivered a good message, but we both knew we were in that service because Tom and Deanna were there. (Be sure to read the next post. We will mention a couple things Tom told us personally.) We were experiencing a serendipitous coincidence. I would have believed my wife had the mind of the Holy Spirit when she suggested we attend there, but for a statement I had heard Dr. Jack Hayford make many years ago. He said. "Everyone knows God cannot talk to you through your wife." (Need I tell you it was obviously a tongue-in-cheek remark? And by the way, so was the last one I made.)
One thing I have learned fairly recently is that we can do things intentionally or accidentally. There is a creative intelligence behind everything we perceive with our senses, and all the things we do not. Everything in the universe, from creation to the present, has been done with intention and purpose. Perhaps you have been "tossed around" (Ephesians 4:14; James 1:6) either by bad teaching, a lack of faith, or both. It is time for that to stop! If things are not going the way you would like, seek the wisdom of God to discover if you have either not been intentionally doing the right things or perhaps even intentionally doing the wrong things. Either of those will stifle your maturity, mitigate your growth, and reduce you to living a life where you do not recognize the hand of God at work. In short, you will not be able to live the abundant life Jesus promised you. (John 10:10) Any good things that happen will look like serendipitous coincidences.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
What Normal Is
Last week, I caught up with a friend on Face Book. That in itself is not too out of the ordinary, and would not be top of the page news, since I do check for messages and updates there, usually more than once a day. It was what he said that seems to have stirred up something in the spirit.
This friend and his wife are dear, long-time friends who are leaving next week to return to the mission field in Brazil. In what I had thought to be a "random" thought process (I know, I know), I had been wondering about their finances. When I saw that he had his messenger on, I inquired about their finances and how the whole thing worked since they are part of a larger, sending organization. He assured me that 100% of the money received with their name on it goes into their personal account to keep them in the field. He invited me to send as much as I wanted to at anytime. (sic.) We have already been sending monthly support for their work, but I told him to let us know if they ever needed any extra. He said getting there is the most expensive part of the proposition and anything extra we could send would definitely be an answer to prayer. We have no problem being agents in answered prayer. I remarked that sometimes God has us run across each other, in what seem to be random instances, with larger plans in mind, than we even conceive. I am not sure what difference our gift will truly make in the overall scheme of things, but that is not the point. In fact the right time, right place scenario of our meeting on Face Book is not even the point.
The point really is what my friend said to me after I mentioned God had ordained our meeting. He said, "That is the way the ministry of the prophet works." I told him not to do that to me. I have no desire to be a prophet, at least not by office. Maybe I could prophesy here and there under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. He went on to say that he has lived with a prophetess for over 40+ years, and he has. If you are not sure how I really feel about the implication I might be a prophet, go back on read, "Present Day, 5/25/09." My friend is a man of superlative, spiritual insight. I am not so sure about the other man who accused me. When he recognized himself while reading these pages, he objected to the choice of the word "accused." I assured him it was for rhetorical affect. Some people only hear what they want to hear and usually understand less than that.
The reason the time-stamp on this post is not something like 4:45 AM is that the power was out at that time and, of course, blogger does not work without an internet connection. I detest waking up at that time on Sunday morning. However, at least this time it was of benefit--I think. I was about half conscious when a picture appeared in my mind. I saw the hand of Jesus extended downward toward my hand which was open, palm up. It was a still picture, a snapshot. He had just placed a small seed (mustard seed?) on the palm of my hand. Although the picture was a snapshot, there was unspoken dialogue going on between us. He wanted to know if I were going to take His gift. I froze. I was sure I would take His gift, but I did not know what it was or what I was supposed to do with it. I hesitated to take something that I would not, could not use, but was also quite sure that He would not have given it to me without a purpose in mind. As the picture vanished, I had begun to close my hand around the seed.
I do apologize for keeping you in suspense, but I cannot tell you what that seed is at this time. When I can I will. I do mean "can." I do not know what the seed is, only that Jesus has given it to me. Many of you do not know this, but God has been multiplying my financial seed in tremendous ways lately. (I hesitate to use "miraculous" in this case, but some might see it as such. Is 60% in one week miraculous or just tremendous?) God gave me that seed and is multiplying it. Now I have another seed. As soon as I know what it is and what to do with it, I will let you know. In fact, depending on who you are and where you are you may be the first one to know. If that is the case, tell me so I can be the second, okay?
This friend and his wife are dear, long-time friends who are leaving next week to return to the mission field in Brazil. In what I had thought to be a "random" thought process (I know, I know), I had been wondering about their finances. When I saw that he had his messenger on, I inquired about their finances and how the whole thing worked since they are part of a larger, sending organization. He assured me that 100% of the money received with their name on it goes into their personal account to keep them in the field. He invited me to send as much as I wanted to at anytime. (sic.) We have already been sending monthly support for their work, but I told him to let us know if they ever needed any extra. He said getting there is the most expensive part of the proposition and anything extra we could send would definitely be an answer to prayer. We have no problem being agents in answered prayer. I remarked that sometimes God has us run across each other, in what seem to be random instances, with larger plans in mind, than we even conceive. I am not sure what difference our gift will truly make in the overall scheme of things, but that is not the point. In fact the right time, right place scenario of our meeting on Face Book is not even the point.
The point really is what my friend said to me after I mentioned God had ordained our meeting. He said, "That is the way the ministry of the prophet works." I told him not to do that to me. I have no desire to be a prophet, at least not by office. Maybe I could prophesy here and there under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. He went on to say that he has lived with a prophetess for over 40+ years, and he has. If you are not sure how I really feel about the implication I might be a prophet, go back on read, "Present Day, 5/25/09." My friend is a man of superlative, spiritual insight. I am not so sure about the other man who accused me. When he recognized himself while reading these pages, he objected to the choice of the word "accused." I assured him it was for rhetorical affect. Some people only hear what they want to hear and usually understand less than that.
The reason the time-stamp on this post is not something like 4:45 AM is that the power was out at that time and, of course, blogger does not work without an internet connection. I detest waking up at that time on Sunday morning. However, at least this time it was of benefit--I think. I was about half conscious when a picture appeared in my mind. I saw the hand of Jesus extended downward toward my hand which was open, palm up. It was a still picture, a snapshot. He had just placed a small seed (mustard seed?) on the palm of my hand. Although the picture was a snapshot, there was unspoken dialogue going on between us. He wanted to know if I were going to take His gift. I froze. I was sure I would take His gift, but I did not know what it was or what I was supposed to do with it. I hesitated to take something that I would not, could not use, but was also quite sure that He would not have given it to me without a purpose in mind. As the picture vanished, I had begun to close my hand around the seed.
I do apologize for keeping you in suspense, but I cannot tell you what that seed is at this time. When I can I will. I do mean "can." I do not know what the seed is, only that Jesus has given it to me. Many of you do not know this, but God has been multiplying my financial seed in tremendous ways lately. (I hesitate to use "miraculous" in this case, but some might see it as such. Is 60% in one week miraculous or just tremendous?) God gave me that seed and is multiplying it. Now I have another seed. As soon as I know what it is and what to do with it, I will let you know. In fact, depending on who you are and where you are you may be the first one to know. If that is the case, tell me so I can be the second, okay?
Sunday, May 22, 2011
The End of the World
It certainly did not seem as though we had only published once this month. Where did the month go? Apparently we have not been as focused as we might have been. We had thought we would get at least one more post written before the world ended yesterday, but neither of those things happened. Whether you sincerely expected the end of the world, considered the possibility, or merely watched from a distance, there are things to learn from the whole experience.
God intends for us to hear Him every day. That is the essence of the present day ministry of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said it was good that He go away because then the Holy Spirit would come. (John 16:7) The Holy Spirit would not be contained within a human body as Jesus was during His stay on earth, but would be available to all believers all the time. What many people do not understand as they read those words is that each member of the Godhead carries the primary work of God on earth individually in each epoch of history. This is a key concept in understanding why we are still here and why the predictions of the end of the world yesterday were errant.
All three members of the Trinity were present at creation. (Genesis 1:1,2; John 1:1) God the Father worked from the time of creation until Jesus took on flesh and assumed His earthly ministry. When Jesus returned to the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 8:1), The Holy Spirit began His ministry on earth. That ministry will continue until Jesus returns for His Church--at some still future time.
This whole concept of the world ending at 6:00 PM, May 21, 2011 started with the teachings of one man. Granted that man is nearly ninety years old and so should be regarded as an elder in the faith. As we waded and sifted through his aberrant teachings, there was one, common thread of error that might have prevented much of the problem. In case you missed the previous post to this blog, we gave some explanation of the problem of spiritual deception. The nutshell version is that anyone can be deceived. Age and experience are helpful in recognizing deception, but definitely do not completely prevent the problem. In fact, the people with the best spiritual insight are often the most susceptible to deception.
One of our areas of ministry has been the teaching of and distinction between the spirit and the soul. The teaching is too detailed to repeat here, but to begin with, the spirit and soul are completely different and separate from one another. (1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 4:12) The spirit is the God part of us. Its sole purpose is to put us into contact with God. This concept is much easier to understand when we realize the spirit enables contact with God just as our body enables contact with the world. (At least we think that makes it more simple to understand.) Meanwhile, the soul sits between the spirit and the body, processing all that spiritual and physical input through our mind and emotions and then deciding what to do about it by our will.
The concept of the end of the world on May 21, 2011 is a result of a series of mathematical calculations based on interpretations of various scriptural passages, as well as historical and Biblical dates. Guess what? It did not all come together as neatly as some expected. The reasons for this seem obvious. Somewhere in the collective mind (soul) of a group of sincere, but misguided people, a date, a verse of scripture, or a mathematical calculation was incorrect. We have all made mistakes and continue to do so. This one simply got out of hand, like an urban legend going viral on YouTube.
As recently as May 20th, I commented to a Facebook posting it seemed odd someone could say for certain the end of the world would come at a specific time on a specific date, but not be able to discern whether another person were born-again. In fact, most of the people who espoused the concept of the world's end yesterday, are not completely certain if they themselves have been born-again. My point, of course, is that interpretations, and calculations of historical dates are all soulical activities whereas spiritual discernment would enable us to know if we or any other person has been born-again--and when Jesus might return for us. The point is to live as though He could come back at any time.
I sort of wonder if part of the reason God does not want us to know when Jesus will get here is because we might stop doing what we are supposed to be doing. (Assuming were are doing what we should be doing now.) Worse yet, we could be like the Israelites in the wilderness who cast off restraint because Moses was so long in returning from his meeting with God on Mt. Sinai. (Exodus 32)
The people who embraced yesterday as the day the world would end were seduced and deceived. Many of them are sincerely seeking God for His will and His plan. For the time being, they have disqualified themselves as Holy Spirit-led individuals by believing a lie. Among other things, they were taught that the Holy Spirit left all the churches in 1994 because He apparently could not work with them anymore. My understanding is that was the fall back position when Jesus did not return then as predicted. I wonder what they will say this time? At this point I am tempted to quote my own proof texts, but that would probably serve little purpose. We are still here. We may be for awhile yet. Most of you have heard me say I do not do eschatology. Perhaps now you understand why.
God intends for us to hear Him every day. That is the essence of the present day ministry of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said it was good that He go away because then the Holy Spirit would come. (John 16:7) The Holy Spirit would not be contained within a human body as Jesus was during His stay on earth, but would be available to all believers all the time. What many people do not understand as they read those words is that each member of the Godhead carries the primary work of God on earth individually in each epoch of history. This is a key concept in understanding why we are still here and why the predictions of the end of the world yesterday were errant.
All three members of the Trinity were present at creation. (Genesis 1:1,2; John 1:1) God the Father worked from the time of creation until Jesus took on flesh and assumed His earthly ministry. When Jesus returned to the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 8:1), The Holy Spirit began His ministry on earth. That ministry will continue until Jesus returns for His Church--at some still future time.
This whole concept of the world ending at 6:00 PM, May 21, 2011 started with the teachings of one man. Granted that man is nearly ninety years old and so should be regarded as an elder in the faith. As we waded and sifted through his aberrant teachings, there was one, common thread of error that might have prevented much of the problem. In case you missed the previous post to this blog, we gave some explanation of the problem of spiritual deception. The nutshell version is that anyone can be deceived. Age and experience are helpful in recognizing deception, but definitely do not completely prevent the problem. In fact, the people with the best spiritual insight are often the most susceptible to deception.
One of our areas of ministry has been the teaching of and distinction between the spirit and the soul. The teaching is too detailed to repeat here, but to begin with, the spirit and soul are completely different and separate from one another. (1 Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 4:12) The spirit is the God part of us. Its sole purpose is to put us into contact with God. This concept is much easier to understand when we realize the spirit enables contact with God just as our body enables contact with the world. (At least we think that makes it more simple to understand.) Meanwhile, the soul sits between the spirit and the body, processing all that spiritual and physical input through our mind and emotions and then deciding what to do about it by our will.
The concept of the end of the world on May 21, 2011 is a result of a series of mathematical calculations based on interpretations of various scriptural passages, as well as historical and Biblical dates. Guess what? It did not all come together as neatly as some expected. The reasons for this seem obvious. Somewhere in the collective mind (soul) of a group of sincere, but misguided people, a date, a verse of scripture, or a mathematical calculation was incorrect. We have all made mistakes and continue to do so. This one simply got out of hand, like an urban legend going viral on YouTube.
As recently as May 20th, I commented to a Facebook posting it seemed odd someone could say for certain the end of the world would come at a specific time on a specific date, but not be able to discern whether another person were born-again. In fact, most of the people who espoused the concept of the world's end yesterday, are not completely certain if they themselves have been born-again. My point, of course, is that interpretations, and calculations of historical dates are all soulical activities whereas spiritual discernment would enable us to know if we or any other person has been born-again--and when Jesus might return for us. The point is to live as though He could come back at any time.
I sort of wonder if part of the reason God does not want us to know when Jesus will get here is because we might stop doing what we are supposed to be doing. (Assuming were are doing what we should be doing now.) Worse yet, we could be like the Israelites in the wilderness who cast off restraint because Moses was so long in returning from his meeting with God on Mt. Sinai. (Exodus 32)
The people who embraced yesterday as the day the world would end were seduced and deceived. Many of them are sincerely seeking God for His will and His plan. For the time being, they have disqualified themselves as Holy Spirit-led individuals by believing a lie. Among other things, they were taught that the Holy Spirit left all the churches in 1994 because He apparently could not work with them anymore. My understanding is that was the fall back position when Jesus did not return then as predicted. I wonder what they will say this time? At this point I am tempted to quote my own proof texts, but that would probably serve little purpose. We are still here. We may be for awhile yet. Most of you have heard me say I do not do eschatology. Perhaps now you understand why.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Deception Knows No Bounds
I am a little sad this morning. Someone booted me from the TrueBeliever's group on Facebook and then blocked me so I could not be added in again. I am not taking it personally and I am not sad for myself. There are many good people in that group (which now numbers close to 600) with no assurance of their salvation. I explained to one person in a private message that it simply makes no sense to me that God would reveal the exact time of Jesus' return, but leave people wondering if He is coming back for them personally. My conclusion is that one of us is deceived.
There are two things that are ironic in their internal contradictions. One of them is ignorance and the other deception. By definition we cannot know what we do not know. Therefore, we cannot intentionally overcome ignorance. Deception, if anything, is worse. We have no idea where we might be being deceived. In fact, the deeper we go into deception, the greater the deception becomes. This, my dear friends and readers, is a major reason we need one another. Any of us can be deceived in any situation and have no idea we are. Let us explore this concept in some greater detail, with some possibly true-to-life scenarios.
Suppose we have a disagreement with a brother or sister regarding doctrine. One of my personal favorites is whether a Christian can have a demon. That does not come up much anymore because demons are not a very popular subject in most of the modern church. There are those who say a Christian cannot have a demon based on their understanding of 2 Corinthians 6:14 where Paul asks the rhetorical question, "And what communion has light with darkness?" The obvious problem here is that if our understanding is incorrect, if a Christian does have a demonic problem, there would be no solution because we cannot believe the problem really is demonically inspired. Our theology says a Christian cannot have a demon so there must be some other explanation. We could search for that explanation in vain as long as we tread this sod and never find the reason. Whenever our experience contradicts our theology, we should first question our theology.
Let us try another concept on for size. Suppose the problem is not theological in nature at all, but rather simply preference. People choose churches for any number of good or not so good reasons. Some choose a church because they like the music, others would not choose the same church because the music is too loud. Some people like good, solid, exegetical messages complete with references to the original languages while others are bored to tears by such teaching. People often choose a church because they are able to be involved in the ministry of that church and others choose a church where they do not have to be involved.
There really is only one reason to choose a church home. That is the clear direction of the Holy Spirit. When we make our choice for other reasons, we have already put ourselves on the proverbial "slippery slope." That is not to say we should expect to be at the same church for a lifetime. We can make the same mistake by staying too long in a place that we can make by leaving too soon--or not getting to the right place in the first place. Give the human resistance to change, we probably stay too long in places more often than we leave too early.
It would be heavenly if we always knew where we were to be and what we were to be doing. Unfortunately it is a matter of fact that we do not. That is another reason we need each other. Sometimes when we cannot see the forest for the trees (whatever that actually means) we need someone else to come alongside and help us find our way. It should go without saying that person has to be the right person. There are plenty of people who are more than willing to tell us what we ought to be doing or where to go (pun intended). Many of those people have not determined their own place or direction. In fact, people who know they are in the right place and are doing the right things rarely have time to concern themselves with what others are doing. In a sense, when we attempt to tell others what they should be doing, we have taken on the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Need we say none of us is qualified for that job?
To summarize, God has a place for each of us to be and meaningful work for each of us to do. Sometimes finding what that is, can be quite difficult. Sometimes we need the help of others to do it at all, but we cannot depend on them to have God's vision for us. How would it be to try and live one's life according to the vision of another? We shudder to think. As we seek our place and our work in God's kingdom, we need to constantly be looking to His Word and His people to help us. It is so very easy to get off track at any point. After all, deception knows no bounds.
There are two things that are ironic in their internal contradictions. One of them is ignorance and the other deception. By definition we cannot know what we do not know. Therefore, we cannot intentionally overcome ignorance. Deception, if anything, is worse. We have no idea where we might be being deceived. In fact, the deeper we go into deception, the greater the deception becomes. This, my dear friends and readers, is a major reason we need one another. Any of us can be deceived in any situation and have no idea we are. Let us explore this concept in some greater detail, with some possibly true-to-life scenarios.
Suppose we have a disagreement with a brother or sister regarding doctrine. One of my personal favorites is whether a Christian can have a demon. That does not come up much anymore because demons are not a very popular subject in most of the modern church. There are those who say a Christian cannot have a demon based on their understanding of 2 Corinthians 6:14 where Paul asks the rhetorical question, "And what communion has light with darkness?" The obvious problem here is that if our understanding is incorrect, if a Christian does have a demonic problem, there would be no solution because we cannot believe the problem really is demonically inspired. Our theology says a Christian cannot have a demon so there must be some other explanation. We could search for that explanation in vain as long as we tread this sod and never find the reason. Whenever our experience contradicts our theology, we should first question our theology.
Let us try another concept on for size. Suppose the problem is not theological in nature at all, but rather simply preference. People choose churches for any number of good or not so good reasons. Some choose a church because they like the music, others would not choose the same church because the music is too loud. Some people like good, solid, exegetical messages complete with references to the original languages while others are bored to tears by such teaching. People often choose a church because they are able to be involved in the ministry of that church and others choose a church where they do not have to be involved.
There really is only one reason to choose a church home. That is the clear direction of the Holy Spirit. When we make our choice for other reasons, we have already put ourselves on the proverbial "slippery slope." That is not to say we should expect to be at the same church for a lifetime. We can make the same mistake by staying too long in a place that we can make by leaving too soon--or not getting to the right place in the first place. Give the human resistance to change, we probably stay too long in places more often than we leave too early.
It would be heavenly if we always knew where we were to be and what we were to be doing. Unfortunately it is a matter of fact that we do not. That is another reason we need each other. Sometimes when we cannot see the forest for the trees (whatever that actually means) we need someone else to come alongside and help us find our way. It should go without saying that person has to be the right person. There are plenty of people who are more than willing to tell us what we ought to be doing or where to go (pun intended). Many of those people have not determined their own place or direction. In fact, people who know they are in the right place and are doing the right things rarely have time to concern themselves with what others are doing. In a sense, when we attempt to tell others what they should be doing, we have taken on the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Need we say none of us is qualified for that job?
To summarize, God has a place for each of us to be and meaningful work for each of us to do. Sometimes finding what that is, can be quite difficult. Sometimes we need the help of others to do it at all, but we cannot depend on them to have God's vision for us. How would it be to try and live one's life according to the vision of another? We shudder to think. As we seek our place and our work in God's kingdom, we need to constantly be looking to His Word and His people to help us. It is so very easy to get off track at any point. After all, deception knows no bounds.
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