I read a post by Jason today about the need for holiness to again be championed by the church.  It seems to be an essential element of our ability to help the light of Christ shine in this world.  My comment took on a life of its own so I am asking you to read Jason’s article but I am modifying my comment to post here. 

I am in total agreement with Jason that there is a serious need in the church in America to come back to holiness.  Since the light of Christ can never be overcome by the darkness of the enemy, the dimming we ascertain is due to the position we have “between” the light of Christ and the darkness of a lost world.  If we were all transparent enough to allow Christ’s light to shine through us as He intended, we would see the darkness fleeing the light.  Instead we obfuscate when we should be helping to illuminate. 

I believe holiness is the key to our transparency.  Jason asked the following…

“With this said, what do some of you think about the lack of holiness being preached and expressed in the church today? (note: I am not talking about dresses and make-up”

I believe this is a very real factor in the equation. Holiness is mostly omitted or confused with legalistic ideas.  And we certainly don’t live as separated from the world, soldiers in the army of God.  Look at Dees post over at Hope Aflame.  We are so tied into the world it is no wonder the skeptics see no difference between us and them. 

Our constant need for “stuff”, for “entertainment”, for “acceptance”, for “influence”, ad infinitum, is diametrically positioned in relation to our mission to reflect the light of Christ.  When are we going to get it through our thick, titanium clad skulls that this is not about us.  It is about our neighbor and our enemy over us and about Jesus over even them. 

But serving Christ cannot be done if we never serve the others first.  And we can only do that by allowing the light to shine through us and that takes the transparency that is only achieved by holy living.

Jason also asked…

Also, do you feel that Pentecostal churches are feeling pressure to abandon the gifts of the Spirit in our services with the fear of people being uncomfortable?

I have to say that it may be that God Himself might be tired of some of the things we have been calling gifts and manifestations for so long.  Before going any further let me assure all that I am a FIRM believer in the supernatural gifting and moving of God in this time and place.  The very way God brought me to my knees in repentance and to salvation is all the evidence of this that I need.   

But what I mean about God being tired of our “antics” is this. 

Just look at what the vast majority of Pentecostals are seeking and being thrilled at in any given revival.  Slain in the Spirit, speaking in tongues, shouting, jumping, running the isles and I have even heard many boast of people jumping on the back of pews and running them.  Not sure what they call that. 

My question is simply, how do these things truly glorify God.  My falling down on the floor at the altar, which has happened by the way, did what for any lost soul?  Speaking in tongues has been elevated to the level of being worthy of worship itself.  Aren’t we to worship the gifter and not the gift?  Shouting, running, jumping does exactly what to help fulfill the great commission?  And I won’t even say anything about pew back running or picking up hot coals with bare hands or gold dust or gold teeth or…

What saddens me, and I wonder if it saddens God also, is our acceptance that this is all there is and we go away thrilled with the great service or revival.  Where are the miracles that really have the potential to impact lives?  Where are true, verifiable healings?  Where are all the truly changed people?  Where are the lasting deliverances from the activity of the adversary? 

I have experienced many, and am not bothered by any, of these things.  And even on occasion felt closer to God because of it.  As I said, I am saddened, but only because I know there could be so much more.  Are we just settling for what makes us happy at the moment?  And as far as it goes, if God is willing to allow us to have this level of gifting even though we are not very holy, what would we be able to do if we really did come back to holiness?

Some of the new, more postmodern Christians are probably not willing to accept or be comfortable with some of what we call Pentecostal gifting and manifestations.  But I would like to know if they could handle a paraplegic getting out of a wheelchair or a blind man gaining his sight in one of their altars.  I believe they would find this to be cause to sit up and take a fresh look.  I know I anxiously await it in my church. 

I just wonder if we might need to get rid of some of the excess first.

And I don’t have to wonder at all about the necessity to live a holy life before and for our God and King.  There just is no question about this.

Transparency is the need in this moment of darkness.  Then, and only then, can the Light shine through.

Love you all   

Tags: America, army of god, christ shine, darkness, Entertainment, Healing, Holiness, Love, Miracles, neighbor, Pentecost, Pentecostal, Salvation, Self, Supernatural, transparency

I am driving down the road in the middle of an older subdivision.  I see the stop sign coming up but can see that there is nothing at all coming or even a sign of life in sight.  I drive on through the intersection without stopping.  I break the law, intentionally. 

Have you ever done this?  Do you drive 75 mph on the interstate highway instead of the posted 70 mph?  Do you speed up at yellow lights or slow down?

There are laws in our society.  They serve dual purposes.  They serve to keep us or someone else from harm or they serve to stave off the chaos that could result from a lack of laws.  I am sure most of the readers here have never murdered someone.  I am also sure that most of the same readers have broken a law of society. 

Sometimes there are consequences such as fines or incarceration.  Sometimes we get away with breaking the law.  In fact, we actually get away with breaking the law most of the time. 

How does all of this compare with the laws of God?  Do you believe there are any laws of God? 

We know that God gave us the Ten Commandments.  Some of us know that God gave an exhausting list of laws to the Israelites while they were in the desert.  There are 613 recognized laws to be observed in the Torah.  This is known as the Mosaic Law.  From the study and implementation of these laws, the priesthood, by the time Jesus came on the scene, had developed the practice of following these laws into what I am calling pharisaical legalism. 

Pharisaical legalism.  This is an old tactic that the enemy still uses in our day and time.  I define this as; the forming of a set of rules and laws that man decides are necessary for righteousness.  These laws come from interpreting the bible with the help of the wrong spirits. This tactic is losing its effectiveness, I believe, in most religious settings today but, it is far from gone.  It was not that many years ago, in my own denomination, where a bunch of manmade interpretative laws were followed to assess the state of one’s soul.  Laws such as the length of hair and what jewelry, if any, could be worn by a servant of Christ would signify whether you were right with God or not.

Some will argue that some of the Mosaic Law is for Christians to follow, some for all, and some for none.  How are we to know?

Jesus said the following in the gospel of Matthew:

Mat 5:17  “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

What does that mean?  Are we to follow the laws or not? 

The word interpreted as fulfill is pleroo in the original language and according to Thayer means the following, in part; to make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the full, to render full, i.e. to complete, to fill to the top: so that nothing shall be wanting to full measure, fill to the brim, to make complete in every particular, to render perfect,  to carry through to the end, to accomplish, carry out, (some undertaking), to carry into effect, bring to realization, realize, of sayings, promises, prophecies, to bring to pass, ratify, to fulfill, i.e. to cause God’s will (as made known in the law) to be obeyed as it should be, and God’s promises (given through the prophets) to receive fulfillment. 

Our modern dictionary has the additions of these two meanings; to satisfy and to bring to an end.   

Paul had the following to say;

Gal 5:18  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

So we do not have to follow the laws of God, right?

Wrong. 

God’s purpose for the law was twofold.  First it allowed all to realize certain things are required of us to experience a real relationship with Him.  But it was also given in an era, before the Holy Spirit, when man was incapable of following the law because we were slaves of sin.  This is the second reason He gave it.  It was to show us we could not keep the whole of the law.  If we could, there would have been no need for Calvary.  The intent of the law was over and done with when Jesus came

We have to follow the law of God but, it is not through the system of legalism that the enemy pushes so diligently, it is through holiness.  There is simply no place for legalism of any kind.  Grace is the order of the day.  When Paul says that if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law, he is saying that a true believer, one that has sold out to Jesus, listens to the Spirit inside himself, cannot break the law of God. 

Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

We are slaves to sin and death no longer.  Paul says a whole lot more about the Law and Grace.  Read the book of Romans, especially through chapter eight.   I used the statement from Galatians because there is absolutely no way I can see that it can be misconstrued.  And Romans 8:1 affirms we cannot be condemned. 

Are there any rules or law for us to follow?  Yes, there certainly are.  But they are not to be understood in the enemy inspired legalistic form of keeping or memorizing a sin list.  They are not to be realized by coming up with acceptable dress or hairstyle.  There are many more ways that the enemy has corrupted these laws.  I won’t keep on here. 

The Holy Spirit is the spirit of grace and He is the only one that can tell us what God wants from us.  Listen to Him.  He is the only one that can change us.  Let Him.  He is the only one that can lead us down that narrow path.  Follow Him.    

We must stop trying to do His work, before and after, we let people in the door.  Jesus told us that the whole law was simply to love God and everybody else.  If we do this, we won’t keep breaking the law.

Love you all

Tags: Combat Readiness, Enemy, God, Grace, Holiness, Holy Spirit, Law, Legalism, Murder, Sin, Strategy and TacticsSpiritual WarfareSpirit, Ten Commandments

Personally, I know that the miraculous, the supernatural, is real and does happen today.  I won’t argue with you or really even try to convince you of this.  Why?  Because it seems that for some Christians and definitely for those outside of Christ’s kingdom, it would make no difference.  Most minds are already made up.

But I have my own question about this.  Why are more signs and wonders going on in some third world countries than in the USA, a supposed Christian nation?  This is if the stories are real: and the sources for a lot of them seem to be of unquestionable integrity.  At least in my personal experience they are. 

When I read about the early church I see so much more supernatural activity than we experience today, yet the number of disciples today vastly exceeds those of their time.  What might be called a miracle today?

I think it would be something that happens with absolutely no way for it to be explained in the natural world.  As I said, I know they happen and I know it because, I have experienced them. 

But when I read about the signs and wonders in the bible I notice that they are always succeeded by an increase in the Kingdom of Christ. 

Is that the answer?

If miracles are only given by God to further the gospel, to advance the Kingdom, and we live in a culture that is going to insist on them being false even when there is pretty good evidence of the reality of some of them, might that be why they do not happen more often? 

Sorry about the length of that question. 

And with some of the things that are going on supposedly in the name of Christ, is it any wonder why no one believes?  This simply has to be rebuked, and harshly.  But that is another post.

I was saved because of signs and wonders.  God did a couple of things to me that could not have happened.  At another time, God caused an aneurysm in my wife’s brain to disappear before the specialist could decide on surgery.  But, even when someone is healed such as my wife, it did not convince anyone that they need to serve Christ.  Not even my kids took it as a sign to get right. 

It seems that the answer could be that if no one is going to pay attention, that if God is not going to be glorified and the Kingdom increased, then He is not going to bother.  God help us.

Love you all

Tags: America, Body of Christ, Faith, Holiness, Jesus Christ, Kingdom, Miracles, Pentecostal, Salvation, Signs and Wonders, Supernatural

Rodin - Gates of Hell

Hello all fellow soldiers in the ultimate battle.  I am new to this blog stuff and after reading many different ones over the last few months I am finally going to take the plunge.  I am no one special.  Just a warrior trying to stay engaged with the work of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  I can’t shut up talking about Him so I thought I would try to write also. 

This date seems appropriate for the theme behind my first post.  We live in a dangerous world.  But there is also an unseen world that has as much violence going on as ours does.  And I believe both of these worlds overlap and affect each other.

I am not necessarily a writer, so please bear with me, if anyone is reading this.  And I have some definite doubts about whether that will happen.  But if no one does, or is, reading this, that’s okay too.  I’m enjoying it for now. 

My intent is to just think, write, and see what happens.  I haven’t been on God’s side for long.  A little over six years.  I served the enemy for seven times that as an atheist.  And this takes me to what I want to write about on this first post. 

What I wonder is where, exactly, are those gates that Jesus said would not prevail against His church in Matthew 16:18?  

No one seems to know. 

First, one must assume from Christ’s words and everything the bible teaches us, that the enemy is a real one.  I do.  And I know he, Satan, has allies.  They are called the world and the flesh and they must be engaged in battle also.  But as far as Satan and his minions, they pretty much have free reign.  Why?

Because most of the church doesn’t believe in them or at least do not see them as a threat. 

God is at war and He has been for a long time.  We can see that all around us.  Sad people, sick people, hurting people.  Liars, cheats, thieves, murderers.  Evil of all kinds run wild in our world.  When I watch the news or read an article or even hear prayer requests at church I am reminded that the enemy is real and roaming about like a roaring lion, seeking a new person to devour. 

But this is not the way it is supposed to be. 

Jesus said the gates of hell would not prevail against His church.  But we can see the evidence that the gates are actually wide open and the enemy forces come out and do battle whenever and wherever they want. 

Jesus won the war on the cross of Calvary.  But for some mysterious reason that only God understands, Satan is not to be destroyed yet.  So we are left here to be a part of this spiritual warfare.  But we are supposed to be on the offensive, not the defensive.  Jesus left us a weapons manual, Paul taught us how to properly maintain our gear and weaponry, and the Holy Spirit is our ever present leader. 

By saying the gates would not prevail, Jesus was letting us know that because of His soon to be accomplished victory, the enemy would be contained by walls and gates but that we, the church, would be keeping it under siege.  And in the beginning of the church, I believe this was the case.

The early soldiers understood how to do warfare.  Spiritual warfare.  They knew that preaching, teaching, prayer, communion, fellowship, worship, giving, feeding, caring…LOVE, was the way to keep the enemy under siege.  Love and holiness were key.

Holiness.  Oops.  I probably just ran off all three people reading this.  Today, love is okay.  As a matter of fact it is all that is okay in most churches.  But holiness is a term that runs most off or at least turns them off.  But it shouldn’t.  Holiness is not legalism.  It is simply a total separation from the enemies’ side and an alignment with God’s side.  Remember though, the enemy is the world, the flesh and the devil.  A lot of us would say we are willing to stand against and maybe even take the offense against Satan, but we don’t realize to do this we must stand separate from his allies also.  And this we are not as willing to do. 

Those early soldiers understood this and stood for Christ against the world and the flesh.  So they were able to some degree, I think, to keep the enemy in check.  Just imagine being burned alive or hung on a cross and praising God the whole time.  Imagine seeing Jesus standing at the right side of the Father as you are being stoned.  To us these things sound horrible.  But to those soldiers of old, this was the ultimate victory in their lives.  Lives that were given to Jesus, the One who gave His life for them. 

Then the church was compromised, infiltrated as it were, by the ally of the enemy known as the world.  Constantine helped bring this about.  And I am not sure when the ally known as the flesh took over.  But thru these two allies of the main enemy, the gates were somehow thrown wide open.  The enemy was loosed again.  He is still loose.  But we, if we are willing, can chase him back and shut them again.  And we can keep them closed until our King returns. 

I am ready.  And I am calling for some to go with me.  So, if anyone knows, please, where, exactly, are those gates?

Tags: Atheism, Blogging, Blogs, Holiness, Mercy, Servant, Spiritual Warfare