Christian Witchcraft

I am increasingly disturbed by what I call "Christian Witchcraft".  I believe this stems from the "cookie cutter Christian Syndrome".  I talked about that in another blog post.  Briefly, by this I mean, the idea that we all have to be the same.  There is no room for individual beliefs, even if it is not a doctrinal issue.  Christians do need to agree on anything that someone could lose their soul if their belief is not the same as the other Christians.  However, most of the things Christians disagree about, are not that serious.
When a Christian does not agree with his/her fellow Christians, often, the disagreeing Christian is often manipulated, shunned, shamed or worse.  This idea that there is no new ideas, no new ways of doing things in a different way is not allowable.
If the Wright Brothers did not do something different, they would never have built an airplane.  I believe that the problem for Christians is often is that the other Christians wish they had thought of it first.  Christians are prime targets to get into a rut.   Even those who have changed recently can get into a rut of not wanting to make the next change.
What is disturbing to me is how other Christians are often used to tell their fellow Christians how they should run their life.  Most of the time these Christians can't keep their own lives straight but are ready to tell others what they would do, if they were them.  Let's use what day to go to church as an example.  Some worship on Saturdays, some on Sundays, some Sunday and Wednesdays and some every day of the week.  What does the Apostle Paul say about this?  Romans 14:5 says "One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind."  This is a principle that applies to everything that is not a doctrinal issue that could cost someone their soul.
So you go to church 3 times a week every week.  I go to church 2 times a week.  Is this a problem?  Not if each person is convinced this is what God requires of us.
However, tell the average Christian this and you will get some "shoulds" thrown at you.  The enemy of our souls uses well-meaning Christians to abuse other Christians.  The "should" syndrome has been used in churches for many years.   And I might add in many Christian homes.  I lived with the should syndrome for many years.
It is my opinion that it really is a matter of the heart.   In the scripture above, Paul states that one should be fully convinced in their mind.   If a persons belief is not contrary to scripture, then it really is a matter of what God requires of you.   God very well could require one person to go to church weekly and another to go one time a month.  
The reason I call this Christian witchcraft is because of what witchcraft is.  Boiled all the way down to the basics, witchcraft is control or manipulation of another person.  When Christians manipulate other people it is witchcraft as well, regardless of the first person's intentions.  As Jesus said in Matthew 7:5, "
You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  In other words, don't try to get another person to do what you think is right for them, until you are complete/perfect.
One final note:  Hitler used manipulation to gain power over the people.  I have been reading a very interesting book called When a Nation Forgets God by Erwin W. Lutzer.  I believe that we can learn from the past.   One of the things Hitler accomplished is to make the church powerless.  This is happening today in the USA.  One of the ways to make this happen is to turn people against each other.  A house divided cannot stand.  The USA is becoming more and more divided, both inside and outside the church.

Mercies of God

What an honor it is to serve God!  Each day is a new day.   Anne of Greene Gables said something like each day is a clean slate with no mistakes.  Lamentations 3:22, 23 says:  "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning, great is your faithfulness."  There is a sweetness to beginning every day with God.  
I confess that I need the mercy of God.  I do not believe that this is a failure.  I am of the race called humans.  I make mistakes.  God knows and understands how we are made.  After all,  God took the dust of the earth, formed man and breathed into him the breath of life.  (See Genesis 2:7)  Psalm 139 reaffirms that God loves me.  He loved me before I was even in my mother's womb.
What is even more exciting is that God loves you.  He has thoughts about you.  In Jeremiah 29:11, God tells Jeremiah, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  God is concerned about you and about your future.  God is not just concerned about your beginning and what you are doing now, He is concerned about your entire life.  He gave you the Bible to learn about His ways.  When we learn about God's ways, we begin to make better decisions.  This affects our tomorrows.
Another great thought is to read a chapter of Proverbs every day.   If you are a brand new Christian, you may want to read just a few verses each day and as God to show you what they mean and how you can incorporate them into your life.   It is great to read the Bible cover to cover, but in the beginning you may want to start with the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  
Just as a baby starts with milk, new Christians benefit the most by reading the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs.   After a while, you will want more solid food, so to speak, and then you can move on to other books like Galatians and Ephesians.
The most important thing is to ask the Holy Spirit to help you to understand what you are reading.  You may need someone to help you understand.   If you have questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I will do my best to answer.   
Don't get upset if you don't understand everything.   We likely never will while living down here on Earth.  However, as time goes by you will understand more and more.   Don't get down on yourself if you make mistakes.  God knew you (and I) would make mistakes and He still formed us and cares about us.  His thoughts toward us cannot be me counted.  That is so amazing.

Forgetting:  All the mistakes of yesterday and today, all the mistakes before this moment.
Remember:  I (and you) are created by the Creator of the Universe.  When we ask forgiveness He forgives us.  He takes our sins and never remembers it again.   Forgive youself!

Church: Open Letter to Church Leadership

I heard a heartbreaking statistic today.  It crushed me, I knew that it is true.   I don't like statistics because they can and often are manipulated.  I believe they are often used to manipulate people.   Nevertheless when I heard this one, it cut right to my heart.  A recent poll conducted by the Barna Group reveals that 46% of church-going Americans claim their lives have not changed at all due to their time spent in the pews.
A recent poll conducted by the Barna Group reveals that 46% of church-going Americans claim their lives have not changed at all due to their time spent in the pews.   The Barna Group is one of the most trusted organizations for statistics.

Read more: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/blackwhiteandgray/2012/01/the-church-has-no-effect-on-your-life/#ixzz3R4WRXnbg

This is appalling.   However, I believe that I understand why this is true.

First of all, the church has become a form of entertainment.   The un-churched are not interested in entertainment.  They have real entertainment.  They don't need to go be entertained on Sunday, because they have football, NASCAR,  TV, movies etc.
I believe that C.H. Spurgeon had it right when he said,  "A time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the church will have clowns entertaining the goats." ~ C.H. Spurgeon
"Secondly, the church has largely turned it's back on the problems of the country and the world.  Sure we may pick one or two areas we talk about here and there but we don't talk about the economy that is about to collapse, we don't talk about the Islamic infiltration of our country.   We don't seem to care that villages in Niger were recently burnt, killing many Christians.  Or that Christians around the world are being martyred for their faith.  How about how we are sacrificing our infants on the altars of Baal and Molech?   How the film industry is so filthy that the Christians should be appalled.  But no, we go watch their movies, paying our money to the very people we should be denouncing.    As if this is not bad enough, we export our sins to the world.  No wonder Islam calls us (the USA) the whore of the world.Yet, the very fact that shariah law is creeping into the laws of this nation should make us wake up.The real tragedy is that Christians are not being prepared for what is taking place in this nation and the world.   If you study history, can you see how our nation has changed?  How we are becoming apostate? 

What is happening is a spiritual problem.  If the church does not step up and take action, someone else will.  The church will be judged for what we allowed to happen on our watch.

The answer is repentance.  Pure and simply, it must start with the church.  Repentance means turning away.   It is not enough to says "Sorry" and go on with the same lifestyle.   It is almost impossible to tell the church from the world.  Perhaps we don't use the same swearwords, but we dress the same, go to the same movies, use those movies inside the church.  Instead we should be like the 7 wise virgins who were preparing and prepared for the return of the bridegroom.

I believe that in the near future you will see a division between what Jesus called the sheep and the goats.   It is the pastor's (shepherd) job to protect and disciple the sheep.   God considers this an important job with dire consequences for failure.

One final quote from Spurgeon:
Sin and Hell are married unless repentance proclaims the divorce." ~ C.H. Spurgeon

Repentance is not raising your hand during an altar call (shouldn't be called altar calls anymore) or by saying a prayer.   Repentance is turning away from sin.  As was in the case of Jacob/Israel, this often involves wrestling.
If anyone reading this needs more information on how to repent of your sins and put Jesus in charge of your life, please leave a comment with your email and I will email you with more information and attempt to answer any questions you may have.   I want you to know upfront that being a Christian (Christ-like one) is not easy.   It is worth it, but not easy.

Of course, if this doesn't apply to you, please disregard.

Sources:
http://www.acommonword.com/
http://apprising.org/2012/02/28/john-piper-on-rick-warrens-chrislam/

Church: Sunday is Coming

It's Thursday evening and the thought of Sunday makes me tense.  I can't keep making excuses for missing a lot of church services.  I have a good friend to whom I am accountable.   I know that she is beginning to wonder about my commitment to the church we both attend.  Before I joined this church, I prayed a lot.  I wanted to be completely certain that I was doing the right thing.   I truly believed I was doing the right thing.  Even now, I believe that I was acting in faith.  I was trying to do what I believed God wanted me to do.
Some time later, I wondered if I misheard God.  I felt like God told me that I was not sent there for myself, but sent for the people.
It would be some time before I began to understand what this meant.  I began to forge friendships with new people.  I had an exchange of ideas with other church goers.  After some time I was an assistant connect group leader.  I felt like I was a good influence. 
The main place I believe I was useful to God was through prayer.  I began to pray for a friend and the ministry she is involved in.   I found such a joy through prayer.   Prayer is rewarding in many ways; but at times the results of prayer are not known in this life.  There were many answers to prayer as well during this time.
Where I differ from the 'average' churchgoer is that I have been a student of the Bible for years.  A shallow sermon makes little impact on my life.  For a time I thought that it was okay that I was not being challenged at my church.   I thought that I could listen to pod casts to forage for what I was not being fed at my own church.   For time I also thought that it was enough that others seemed to listen to what I had to say.  However, those closer to me, kept telling me that I had something to say, and that it was my time.  But opportunities were few.
Still, I remained.
I have written all the above to show that going to church is not enough.  It is about a relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.   I wasn't trying to live my life without a relationship with God.  But going to church is not what God requires of you.  God is concerned with every day of your life, not just Sunday.  Hebrews 10:25 is often quoted by church leaders to keep people going to church.  It says, "do not forget the assembling of believers as is the manner of some."  However, in the early church, the believers went to synagogue, but mostly met in each others homes.  There reason for gathering together was to study and listen to the apostle's doctrine.  They did not gather for entertainment.  They met to hear the meat of the word of God.  At most churches today, the congregation is lucky to get milk.   It is impossible to grow spiritually with only milk.
Please note I said most churches.  There are some wonderful churches out there.  Places where the pastors are shepherds.  I am not anti-church.

To be continued ....

Forgetting:  The rules and regulations of the religious.  Leaving behind the things that try to keep me down.

Remembering:  I live to please God.  I attempt to do all that He asks of me.  This may mean saying no to good so that I can do the best.

Day 12: Genesis 1:1-1:2 gap?

Is there a gap between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2?  Many theologians believe that there is.  In Genesis 1:1 God created the heavens and the earth.  In verse 1:2, the earth is without form and void and darkness was on the face of the deep.  The word for form is tohuw (Strongs hebrew 8414).  It means lie waste, desolate, worthless.  It can also mean vain, confusion, nothing or wilderness.
Void is from bohuw (Strongs 922).  It means empty, a vacuity, empty or void.
This poses the question, did God create something so undesirable?  Perhaps the question is could He create something that was worthless?  God can do anything, so He could.  But would He?  I think the argument could be made that it is presented in an order.  If this were the case verse 2 should come before verse 1.  However, if that were the case then where did the formless and void place come from?
I believe that God is a God of order.  So perhaps verse 1 is a statement of what happened and verse 2 begins the description of how it happened. 
No matter which way you believe, you have to deal with something worthless being there.
If there is a gap, what happened during that time?  How long was the gap?  Why didn't God intervene?  I do not believe we will ever know this side of eternity. 
If there was a gap, it may help to bridge the distance between the age of the world, as seen by the world and the church view.  It could be a day or millions of years. 
As this is not something that I consider as a doctrinal issue, I mention it.  I tend to subscribe to the gap theory.  I think it is likely that the fall of satan and 1/3 of the angels happened during this time.  When he was cast out of heaven, Isaiah states that lucifer did weaken the nations.  (Isaiah 14:12)   He was cast out into the earth (Revelation 12:9).  Revelation 12:12 says 'woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea!  For the devil is come down unto you having great wrath, because he knows he has a short time.'

Forgetting:  That I think I know about God.  That I think I know all His ways and wisdom.

Remembering:   God's ways are higher than my ways, His thoughts are not my thoughts.  He promises to give me all things pertaining to life and godliness.

Day 8: It may look the same, but it's new

Forgetting: Sameness.   Thinking that every day is the same, one after another.  That life resembles a line of zombies monotonously plodding one behind another.

Remembering:   Each morning brings new mercies from God the Father.   Each day He releases the thing that I need to get through that day.   Every day can be an adventure with God.  My part is invite Him, and to follow where He leads, and do what I see Him do.

Update 11/11/17
In June of 2017, there were people painting rocks and leaving them places.  A co-worker gave me a rock that said "And so the adventure begins" or something like that.  Well, the adventure needs to end.  Sameness is looking really good now.  Everyday with God is an adventure to some degree.  The joy is there if we choose to tap into it.

Day 6: Pleasing God First

Forgetting:  the ideas that come to my brain that people don't like me.

Remembering:  people can only like me to the extent I love myself.  I was not put on earth to please people, but to please God.

Update:  11/11/17:
This one is almost funny.  The Bible teaches us that we can capture our thoughts and bring them into submission to the truth of scripture.  I am learning it does not really matter if people like me or not.  I'm here to do my job, regardless of what I am doing.  

Day one: The Tongue

Forgetting this:  thinking that I will always  get into trouble because of my tongue.

So before too long into my day I found that I had done it again.  Opened mouth and I inserted foot.  It seems that many people do this and it doesn't bother them.  

It did bother me.  I want to change.  According to the book of James, taming the tongue is possible.  It's hard but possible. 

Learning:  to tame the tongue.

It seems that in order to succeed, I should be wise in my speech.  I probably would benefit from reading James 3 often.
Another good thought would be to read Proverbs daily.

Future:  reading James has brought up other issues I believe I need to deal with.

Update 11/11/17:
I am still having trouble with the tongue.  I am still hopeful that I will grow closer to God and part of this is taming that tongue.  I do talk a lot less than I did, but it seems like talking gets me into trouble.  I am trying to listen more and talk less.  

The Beginning

I was reading Kris Valloten's book Spirit Wars this morning.  This one sentence jumped out at me:  "What I did not realize until that night was that I had been educated right out of my solution."  That hit me hard.  This thought came to me, "what if I could forget what I thought I knew about God and start fresh and learn again"  It sounds crazy.  That is the purpose of this blog, a reset, a new beginning.  Starting without preconceived ideas about God.  Doing what new Christians do.
My plan:  to write what I am forgetting and what I am learning.

Afterward:  Coincidentally?  Tonight I watched "God's Not Dead".  It is about a student who chooses to accept a challenge to try to prove that God is not dead.

Update:  2/16/15
This has been a much different journey than I had expected.  But just as a plant is pruned to help it grow and produce more, so have I been pruned.  This winter has been long and cold.  In many ways it has been hard but joyful.  It won't be long until I hear the words, "Lo, the winter is past....."

Update 11/11/17
How far this journey has taken me.  I believe that if I had not left the Standard American "Church", I would be a dead and cold Christian.  I am shocked to see where I am now.  But there is the "life" of God stirring in my heart and I believe that I am closer to being like Christ.  Is that not what we are meant to be?  Formed in the image of Christ.  I am planning to update my blogs first and there continue on, by relating how I have gotten from where I was to where God has brought me.  I have a glimpse of my future.  I believe that many Christians all over the world are escaping "church" in order to become the body of Christ, His church, also called the "remnant".