I was walking to my car and could hear the man’s tirade when I was still six or seven cars from where he and his wife, I assume, were at their own car loading their goods.  It was a Wal-Mart parking lot and I hate to say it but sometimes I feel like having a rant in that parking lot also, but I do not.  Or at least I don’t like this man did.

He was probably a little older than me, maybe mid fifties, and a pretty big man.  A couple of inches over six feet and his wife looked small beside him.  He was almost throwing their bags in the trunk and as I got closer I heard a couple of racial slurs and quite a few choice phrases and words that I hope none of you use.  Someone had definitely raised this man’s ire.

I passed them, heading to my car, and the lady smiled embarrassingly at me.  I never heard her say a word.  I was parked a couple of cars past them and was still loading my truck as he pushed his buggy in front of his car, leaving it touching the bumper of the car in front of his.  I shook my head as he got in his vehicle and slammed the door and backed out quickly, not even paying attention to anyone it seemed as he drove away.  Way too fast for a parking lot, I might add.

I noticed the little fish emblem on the back of the car as he drove away.

This whole episode made me think of the discussion I started on this site Tuesday.  It seems some people don’t think we are able to measure another person’s spiritual growth or that we should.  I beg to differ and really expected someone to show that the bible does give us some guidelines for this.  We should first apply them to ourselves but we can also use them to determine to some degree another person’s level of growth also.  I actually believe we are not really as loving as we say we are when we ignore these things.  Some think this would be judgmental though.

Joh 13:35  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

2Th 1:3  We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.

Gal 5:22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;

These verses seem to give us plenty of guidance on how to measure to some degree a person’s spiritual growth.  Loving one another is a given.  Loving God and then strangers is also an indicator.  A growing faith and an ever increasing love is also part of it.  And we talk a lot about the fruit of the Spirit but isn’t one thing it is good for to show our level of growth.  If I know someone that is hateful, bitter, insecure, anxious, mean, hurtful, untrustworthy, harsh, and self indulgent, then I can pretty much say they have a lot of growing to do.  Whether I know them intimately or not.

The body of Christ needs more mature believers willing to become active in helping the less mature in their spiritual growth.  This whole concept of Jesus and me only is so foreign to the mission and the responsibility that has been placed on each one of us.  The Church, the people of God, are supposed to be relational, loving and guiding even the most immature believer to maturity.

I did not speak to the man in the parking lot and I don’t know whether I should have or not.  I don’t know that he was a Christian.  That little fish emblem proves nothing.  And even if he is then I do think it would seem a little judgmental for me, a stranger, to try to point out anything wrong in his attitude.  But if he is a Christian, then I have to believe that there is someone in his life that needs to measure his spirituality against the scripture and speak into his life.  For his sake and the Kingdom.  It would be the loving thing to do.

Our most sacred charge is to go and make disciples.  That is not just the leaders and teachers jobs either.  A disciple is someone that is becoming more and more like Jesus.  If we are to make them then we must measure and evaluate spiritual growth.  We have the tools and guidance right there in the Word of God to help us do this for ourselves and for others spiritual growth.

When are we going to take this sacred charge seriously and realize we have the tools we need and start using them?

Love you all

Tags: Bible, Body of Christ, Church, disciples, Faith, Fruit of the Spirit, Judgment, Kingdom, mission, racial slurs, Responsibility, wal mart, word of god

I have a confession to make.

I am not who I believe I should be.  I am not who I want to be.  I am not who my wife thinks I ought to be.  But most of all, I am not who God made me to be.

I say all that to simply admit that I do make mistakes; mistakes in actions, in reactions, in words and in deeds.  I have to admit that it is even possible that my opinions and conclusions may be wrong sometimes.  But thankfully I usually try to admit that I could be wrong about those.  I am loud, passionate, and overbearing sometimes in my attitude and delivery.  I am human.  For that I apologize.

I have also been challenged more this past year about what it means to be Christlike than ever before.  I in turn have grown uncomfortable in my role in the mission Jesus left with us all.  I have tried to take the lazy way out and tell myself that my job was to discern and instruct, to study and to share.  But I realize that is not enough.  The time I spend trying to herd others onto the path I see, instead of taking the first steps onto that path myself, is wasteful.  And if there is one thing I know, it is that time is running out.

Our goal is to be a disciple and our mission is to go and make disciples.  Discipleship at its simplest is to become like the Master.  A lot of us are already working on the goal, including myself, but not so much on the mission.  It does seem that the vast majority of even steady, faithful, church goers are not ready to take those first steps.  I have been hesitant myself for too long and it grieves me more each day.  I know that the frustration that is building in me is starting to come out in ways that do the vision a disservice.  And it is not very Christlike at the same time.

I know that changes must come if the Kingdom is going to advance.  Changes in the way we have been looking at the mission.  Changes in the way we look at Church, denominational institutions, and leadership.  Changes in the way we present the love of Jesus to the world.  Changes in the way we relate to all of those around us.  Changes in the way we see ourselves as citizens of the Kingdom of God.  Changes in our worldly nationalistic pride.  Changes in our tacit acceptance of our own evil agendas.  Changes in our hate filled grandiloquence towards those that we see as beneath us good Christians.  Changes that have to be realized and actualized if we are to show our Father we really are on board with Him.

I have desperately tried to relay this, just waiting for someone to take those first steps. What I did not see was that maybe I need to take them.  There are about to be changes in my life.  I am going to step up and step out.  I just have to remind myself the first steps are the hardest.

Love you all

Tags: Believe, Christlike, Church, confession, frustration, Kingdom, Leadership, mission, Self, Service

It simply amazes me that when someone asks questions that do not align with the majority, that majority turns and instead of engaging oftentimes abandons the discussion.  I have watched a few come to this blog and enter the conversations and quietly go their own way.  Maybe they are engaging in the more profitable and important area of Facebook farming or maybe they just want to be around those that believe exactly like they do.  I still love you.

Some have entered the conversation only long enough to let me know I am either not saved or that I am purposefully causing division.  Hit and run commenter’s that I have begged to come back.  I think they probably do this every where they go.  And then there are those that have come occasionally, left some good comments but have now decided the conversation is getting too rough, too offensive or whatever else they may think.  I still love you also.

I hate this.  I want to have some conversations that lead to a better understanding of who God is so that we can abandon the rather unfruitful way we have been reaching out to those outside the Kingdom and become more effective.  I know that some think that these conversations are more divisive than helpful and I expect no less.  Some will never question what they have been told to believe and some will only come around very, very slowly.

But if we are not growing, we are dying.  And we are supposed to be living, and engaging the enemy everywhere he is and chasing him back behind those gates which we let him escape from to begin with.  This is what I and this blog are about.  I hate to lose readers and even more, commenter’s.  But I will not abandon what I feel led to do here.

Confrontation is not always fun but when error is so easily tossed around in the Kingdom of God then it must be confronted.  Who am I to do this?  I am just a man; fallible, imperfect, very much capable of making mistakes, but still willing to posit my understanding of Kingdom and God issues and allow the discussions, the ridicule, the harassment, and the offensive words to come as they will.  You can’t hurt me with words or by holding your words back.  God is with me in this even though some do not see it and think this has nothing to do with God.

If no one ever stood up to wrong theology, wrong doctrine, wrong attitudes, just where would we be today.  I am not saying everything is wrong that you or anyone else believes, but at least have the courage to hear another side sometimes.  Everyone is a heretic in someone’s eyes.  I am chief among them.

But I am only concerned with what God thinks.  As long as I am trying my very best to know Him more and advance the Kingdom, I believe I am okay.  That is all any of us have to remember.  We all have a part to play, a battle to engage, a mission to fulfill; and they are not all alike.  For any willing to keep on furthering the discussions here, I am deeply grateful.  For all who have left or are leaving, thanks and God bless you.

I still and will keep on loving you all

Tags: blog, Conversation, Discussion, God, Kingdom, Thanks, Theology

When I first started this blog I wanted to say a few things and hopefully start some discussions about the Kingdom of God and the spiritual warfare that is going on all around us.  There are only two sides in this war.  Gods and Satan’s.  All of us are serving one or the other.  Some might deny this but it is true.  My hopes were that some of the ones serving Satan, whether intentionally or not, would find this site and join in the conversation.

I used to serve Satan even while denying he existed.  A lot of people do.  I was an atheist.  I know how some of them think and the questions and arguments some of them have.  I want them to join in here so a dialogue can be initiated.  So far there have not been any, except possibly one early on, actually post any comments.  But there is a lot of traffic so maybe, some day.

Some of you who  mainly read are wondering why a lot of what is written is so controversial and confrontational.  It is because of something I found out when I became a servant of Jesus.  I found out that we do not all agree and we have many different opinions about a number of theological issues.  Now some of you might think that I should tone this down so that the non-believer will see only unity.  But what are the ramifications of that?

Lets say we all put on some kind of front and someone actually comes to visit one of our churches.  It won’t take long for them to ascertain our subterfuge and feel deceived and betrayed.  We will be exposed as liars.  No, it is better for them to see that we do not agree on all things but we do agree on the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  Jesus is Lord and even though some see that a little differently than others, I believe that all the main contributors here, the ones some of you readers may think agree on nothing, do agree on this fact.  And it is the most important fact of all.

When someone like I used to be stumbles onto this site, they will possibly find that there just might be other answers to some of their problems with our doctrine and beliefs.  This will be beneficial for any who dare take the plunge and dive into the discussions.  I wish I could have found a site like this when I was on the other side.

To sum up; this blog exists for the sole purpose of hopefully reaching a lost soul who has problems, who has skepticism, and who has questions.  I hope they find it.

And it is fun also.

Love you all

Tags: atheist, Belief, blog, Church, Conversation, Discussion, God, Hope, Jesus Christ, Kingdom, Servant, Spiritual Warfare, Theological