The following You-Tube video expresses everything I have ever tried to convey about my utter hatred for the religion which so blatantly misrepresents itself as the true Church and Body of Christ:
This will be my last post for quite a while, if not for the rest of my life!
The following is an email (and my response) I received from a brother in Christ, a fellow sojourner, just recently. For those of us who know we have fully given our lives and self over to the Lord and have died on the cross (perhaps, the few chosen out of the many called?), or are in the process of dying to self and this world, the following should sound familiar. For those who are content practicing a religion about God and His Son (the many called), the following will probably not register that much or even at all!
Good Morning Mark – I am not sure if this helps, but it did for me. I heard Lance Lambert say in a message the other day, that when the Lord went up on the piece of wood, on that Tree of Death, we either went up with Him, or we chose to stay on the ground thanking and praising Him, trying to explain it all, to appropriate it all (essentially what most of what modern Christian faith represents), but never really committing to hang there ourselves. Yet Paul said he had been crucified there with Christ. Have we? All things in the New Creation rise up out of the rotting ground and decay of the old – it is newness of life, as life out of death, much like a forest bed and all of the abundant, verdant, ever-increasing life there because if it.
It is not so much about the world’s things, but about whether they have been “made safe” or not. Paul teaches us that in one sense things don’t matter (don’t touch this or don’t touch that), but what matters is whether we have died to those things, to all the world’s things, even good and normal things, and that they have died to us. It may be easy relatively to “give up” things that hurt us, but what about things that in themselves are good or very normal, but in an uncrucified believer are dangerous? This is different for each of us, depending on how much the cross has taken from the old man in us. I like the translation Sparks uses – “my interest in this world has been crucified”. In one sense, it is all under water, part of the old creation, all that which is being replaced.
The Lord himself could travel everywhere in this world, and touch many things (He came eating and drinking; even called by some a winebibber), because it had not no spiritual power over Him. He could touch money, any amount of it, or power or pleasure, because He was totally abandoned to the Father’s will and plans. He knew what it represented, the powers in the air behind it all, and that it was all going to be replaced. He was free! And the cross had done that!
As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died. (Galatians 6:14 NLT)
A truly crucified people are never in danger of the world. It is only when the Cross has not done its work that the world has a place. The world has no place with a crucified man or woman, or a crucified company of believers. The Cross is a great defensive against the world. If you want to keep the world out, put the Cross in its place. If the Cross is truly in its place in fullness, then everything else will come into order. The Cross is the great defensive against the world. The Cross is the great defensive against evil powers. The Cross makes everything safe; it makes everything safe for the Lord.
You see, the Lord wants to commit Himself. He wants to trust Himself to His people, but if the Cross is not there at work, the Lord cannot trust Himself to them. The Lord says, “It is not safe for Me to give Myself there, or I should be involved in their un-crucified condition.” The Cross makes everything safe for the Lord, and the Cross makes everything safe for the Church. If the Cross is really at work in all of us, we can trust one another. It is quite safe to trust yourself to a crucified man or woman.
By T. Austin-Sparks from: The Altar (The Cross) Governs Everything
My response:
All of this describes, in so many ways, why I feel so isolated on this planet, and I would venture a guess that this is true with all of you also. Sparks says put the cross in front of the world, but, in my experience, it was the Lord, once I had initially delivered myself to Him as much as I could, Who placed the cross in front of me. It was the Lord Who ruined me for this country and world. He didn’t ruin the world, since it was already ruined, He ruined me to the world. It seems to me we need to ask the Lord, as with everything else, “Please, Father, put the cross in front of the world for me, for I have no [earthly] power to open my eyes to Your truth about this world.”
I find it very hard to exist in this world, since, evidently, the blinders I once had on have been permanently removed by my Lord and Savior. And now I begin to see as He sees, to sense as He senses, to hear, smell, feel and taste as He does; and these new-to-me heavenly-senses are not always easy to process, to deal with! I am always amazed, and confounded, when I hear the Christian religionist, pagan, or atheist, profess a belief that “THINGS ARE ONLY GOING TO GET BETTER,” when all I can see around me is destruction and death coming.
Yes, “my interest in this world has been crucified,” my interest in this world is broken and dead, or being broken and dying, since this is a life-long process. And yet I know I have pockets of resistance in me. I don’t know what most of them are, but I know they are there, because I am still struggling, Spiritually, still being broken and slain by the will and purpose of my Lord and Father, as will be the case, I believe, until the last day I suck wind;-) on this planet!
Could it be, then, that if we sense we’re failing in all Spiritual things, we sense no purpose or good, in ourselves, for our Lord and others, and we’re even flat (we seem to be unconcerned about our state) that this is exactly where the Lord wants us? Maybe He wants us so broken, so malleable, that we can’t even sense any eternal worth in ourselves? Are we, like Christ, to be poured out as a drink offering on that cross, so that we have no control, no immense awareness of the Lord in us, the hope of glory, the Lord in us the Father sees when He looks at us? Could it be that what we’re struggling with, now, is the residue of man’s religious traditions (that make void the word of God), which we were indoctrinated in and which told us we must do this and/or that, that we must be this and/or that, or we’re nothing to the Lord? Paul said, not looking back, I press on…, could it be that not looking back means not even looking back (or even forward, Spiritually, as it applies to our perception of our Spiritual growth) a second ago?
As with all of you, I have given myself as fully as I can to the Lord, and now He is going to have to take me the rest of the way! I can’t get there! I can’t even get through an hour without feeling ungodly! So, Mark, maybe your flatness or unconcern is not flatness or unconcern at all, but the contentment Paul spoke of, a contentment that I find hard to get to also? Could it be that if the Lord now lives in us that we can trust Him, no matter how much we see the fallen nature that remains in our flesh, to take us the rest of the way?
Mark, you quoted Philippians 1: 6 yesterday: For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. So, according to Paul, it is the Lord Who will perfect the good work in us, not ourselves! So, if I’m sensing this scripture rightly, then it is the Lord’s responsibility to complete me (us), and not mine (ours)!
Help us, Father (help me) Father, to come to a place of rest in wherever and whatever state, Spiritually, physically, mentally or emotionally, or financially, you have us in, knowing that we belong to You and that we cannot thwart Your will and Purpose for our lives, the very Will and Purpose we desire more than life itself! Amen!
Let us pray for each other, because we all know things are not going to get better or easier!
I shared this for one reason, and one reason only, so that those of you out there, like us, might know that you are not alone on this planet, and that your isolation and pain is for a purpose, an eternal one! We all struggle, at points, with the Life the Lord has given us: a part-temporal and part-eternal life, depending on where our walk is in Him, that is nothing in comparison to the full and perfected Life we will have when this temporary arrangement is over! Let us all hold to this hope, this truth!
With this being an election year, I thought I would remind everyone that the Lord has no part in this fraud we call a presidential election! The Lord will use all of this nation’s political backstabbing and corruption to further His own will and defeat His enemy, who rules with such impunity over this morally (and economically) bankrupt nation, but He will never embrace this Godless nation or its ways and agendas! Once again, read the following post and then tell me “the founding fathers” were practitioners of the Christian religion, not to mention true “born-from-above” sons of God.
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Originally posted on May 28, 2010.
I have written on this particular subject several times, but some new information has come to my attention that will even further serve to show the U.S. of A. was not founded on Christian principles and belief. As I’ve stated before, many or most of the “founding fathers” didn’t believe the bible to be anything other than a poorly-written man-made text; and, thus, they didn’t believe in a God who would be personal and loving enough to send His only begotten Son to die for them or anyone else.
Here, as examples of what I’m referring to, are just a few quotes from clergymen who knew George Washington, personally:
“When Congress sat in Philadelphia, President Washington attended the Episcopal Church. The rector, Dr. Abercrombie, told me that on the days when the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was to be administered, Washington’s custom was to arise just before the ceremony commenced, and walk out of the church. This became a subject of remark in the congregation, as setting a bad example. At length the Doctor undertook to speak of it, with a direct allusion to the President. Washington was heard afterwards to remark that this was the first time a clergyman had thus preached to him, and he should henceforth neither trouble the Doctor or his congregation on such occasions, and ever after that, upon communion days, ‘he absented himself altogether from church.’” [emphasis added]
(– The Reverend Bird Wilson, an Episcopal minister in Albany, New York, biographer of Bishop White, in his sermon on the “Religion of the Presidents,” published in the Albany Daily Advertiser, in 1831, quoted from Franklin Steiner, The Religious Beliefs of Our Presidents, pp. 26)
“I have diligently perused every line that Washington ever gave to the public, and I do not find one expression in which he pledges, himself as a believer in Christianity. I think anyone who will candidly do as I have done, will come to the conclusion that he was a Deist and nothing more.” [emphasis added]
(– The Reverend Bird Wilson, an Episcopal minister in Albany, New York, in an interview with Mr. Robert Dale Owen written on November 13, 1831, which was publlshed in New York two weeks later, quoted from Franklin Steiner, The Religious Beliefs of Our Presidents, pp. 27)
Washington: "A Deist and Nothing More!"
Deism:
Deists typically reject most supernatural events (prophecy, miracles) and tend to assert that God (or “The Supreme Architect”) has a plan for the universe that is not altered either by God intervening in the affairs of human life or by suspending the natural laws of the universe. What organized religions see as divine revelation and holy books, most deists see as interpretations made by other humans, rather than as authoritative sources.
Deism became prominent in the 17th and 18th centuries during the Age of Enlightenment, especially in what is now the United Kingdom, France, United States and Ireland, mostly among those raised as Christians who found they could not believe in either a triune God, the divinity of Jesus, miracles, or the inerrancy of scriptures, but who did believe in one god. Initially it did not form any congregations, but in time deism strongly influenced other religious groups, such as Unitarianism and Universalism, which developed from it. It continues to this day in the forms of classical deism and modern deism. [emphasis added]
Note the use of the words “enlightened” and “liberal” in Washington’s following statement:
Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by a difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought to be deprecated. I was in hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy, which has marked the present age, would at least have reconciled Christians of every denomination so far that we should never again see the religious disputes carried to such a pitch as to endanger the peace of society. [emphasis added]
(– George Washington, letter to Edward Newenham, October 20, 1792, quoted from Albert J Menendez and Edd Doerr, The Great Quotations on Religious Freedom, also James A Haught, 2000 Years of Disbelief)
“Enlightened and liberal” This doesn’t sound much like a conservative American Christian speaking here, does it? That’s because it wasn’t a conservative Christian speaking. George Washington was an “enlightened” and “liberal-leaning” Deist. A Deist (agnostic), in my estimation, is nothing more than a hypocritical and cowardly atheist seeking to cover his temporal/eternal gluteus-maximus. Deism (agnosticism) is a “JUST IN CASE” religion/philosophy: “JUST IN CASE my atheism turns out to be false, in the end, I’ll claim, right now, to believe in a god of the universe: ‘The Great Architect’. In this way, then, I can do as I please, here and now, and not suffer any wrath and judgment in the next life; that is, if there truly is a next life and a god to judge me!” Atheists, unlike Deists, are at least honest about their hatred of all things pertaining to creation and their Creator.
Here is more proof of Washington’s, and the other “founding father’s”, almost anti-Christian stance?
Wilson: Early Presidents Not Religious
“The founders of our nation were nearly all Infidels, and that of the presidents who had thus far been elected [Washington; Adams; Jefferson; Madison; Monroe; Adams; Jackson] not a one had professed a belief in Christianity….
“Among all our presidents from Washington downward, not one was a professor of religion, at least not of more than Unitarianism.” [emphasis added]
(– The Reverend Doctor Bird Wilson, an Episcopal minister in Albany, New York, in a sermon preached in October, 1831, first sentence quoted in John E Remsberg, Six Historic Americans, second sentence quoted in Paul F Boller, George Washington & Religion, pp. 14-15)
Thomas Jefferson
Question with boldness even the existence of a god; because if there be one he must approve of the homage of reason more than that of blindfolded fear.
-Thomas Jefferson, letter to Peter Carr, August 10, 1787
I concur with you strictly in your opinion of the comparative merits of atheism and demonism, and really see nothing but the latter in the being worshiped by many who think themselves Christians.
-Thomas Jefferson, letter to Richard Price, Jan. 8, 1789 (Richard Price had written to TJ on Oct. 26. about the harm done by religion and wrote “Would not Society be better without Such religions? Is Atheism less pernicious than Demonism?”)
I never submitted the whole system of my opinions to the creed of any party of men whatever in religion, in philosophy, in politics, or in anything else where I was capable of thinking for myself. Such an addiction is the last degradation of a free and moral agent.
-Thomas Jefferson, letter to Francis Hopkinson, March 13, 1789
Among the sayings and discourses imputed to him [Jesus] by his biographers, I find many passages of fine imagination, correct morality, and of the most lovely benevolence; and others again of so much ignorance, so much absurdity, so much untruth, charlatanism, and imposture, as to pronounce it impossible that such contradictions should have proceeded from the same being.
-Thomas Jefferson, letter to William Short, April 13, 1820
And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerve in the brain of Jupiter. But may we hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away with this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this most venerated reformer [Jesus] of human errors.
-Thomas Jefferson, Letter to John Adams, April 11, 1823
Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law.
-Thomas Jefferson, letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper, February 10, 1814 [emphasis added]
So, was Jefferson a believer in Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of all mankind?
“Question with boldness even the existence of a god… if there be one…”
“Such an addiction [faith in Christ] is the last degradation of a free and moral agent.”
“And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerve in the brain of Jupiter.”
I see nothing in Jefferson’s proclamations, here, to back up any other conclusion than this: Jefferson denied the deity of Jesus the Christ, and, therefore, he could not have been a Christian. The whole basis for Christian belief is Jesus (the Son of God) and His death on the cross and resurrection. Just believing in Jesus as an historical figure is not enough:
For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19For it is written,
“I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE,
AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE.”20Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; 23but WE PREACH CHRIST CRUCIFIED, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 24but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1 Corinthians 1)
Jefferson’s most revealing statement, on the subject at hand, was this,
“Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law.”
English common law was the basis for the American constitution!
Jefferson was not, in any way, shape or form, a Christian. Jefferson, like Washington, Paine and most of the other “founding fathers”, was merely an atheist masquerading as a “man of God” (a deist): his god was “reason” and “freedom”; Jesus was nothing more to Jefferson than a first century Gandhi! Jefferson was just like many of the other “founding fathers” in that he claimed belief in a supernatural being, but the supernatural being would turn out to be the false god of this age (2 Corinthians 4: 4). He was a man who spoke of the need for “enlightened reasoning” and yet could not discern anything beyond that which can be seen, heard, smelled, tasted, felt or tripped over. Jefferson, like almost all of the other “enlightened and reasoning founding fathers”, was a spiritually deluded individual, an atheistic narcissist who, in reality, hated all things pertaining to a sovereign, loving, personal, omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent God.
These so-called “founding fathers” hadn’t, like our tainted history books claimed, left England to escape “religious persecution”, they had left England to escape the rule of an earthly monarch and their heavenly Father. They had left England to pursue their “enlightened” and atheistic/agnostic goals in life: “free moral agency”, which amounts to this, “If it feels good, do it!” Deism was merely the “founding father’s” cover, or disguise, which had helped to hide their atheist/agnostic beliefs and tendencies. Since many of the “New World” folks were devout Christians (Puritans etc), the “founding fathers” had to walk a narrow line between their atheistic and “enlightened” ways of doing business and the ways of the believers and followers of Christ they were about to rule over. The “founding fathers” didn’t want to be ruled by anyone, but they didn’t seem to have any problems with ruling others.
I share some of Washington’s and Jefferson’s dislike for organized Christianity, especially when it comes to Catholicism, but my dislike for organized Christianity, and religion in general, will never keep me from loving and seeking my Lord, Creator and Savior.
The point of this post, and all others I’ve written on this subject, is to exhort my brothers and sisters in Christ to stop mixing their belief and faith in the Lord with “The American Dream:” “love of country”, or patriotism, is idolatry! We cannot serve two masters:
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. [Matthew 6: 24]
America is not one nation under God nor has it ever been: the following motto should read, “In God we DO NOT trust!” The U.S. of A., when it comes to the Lord, is no different than any other nation on earth: it’s a Godless political/economic system whose constituents, for the most part, are in desperate need of the Lord’s Truth, Salvation, Peace and Life!
P.S.
Here is just one more example of this government’s constitution-driven and politically-correct disdain for anything pertaining to the Lord, and this is a recent news item:
May 27, 2010
House rejects amendment on chaplains’ prayers
by Ankita Rao
Religion News ServiceWASHINGTON (RNS) The House on Thursday (May 27) rejected a proposed amendment that would have allowed military chaplains to close public events with faith-specific prayers.
The amendment, offered by Tea Party favorite Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., to the Military Construction Authorization Act, was deemed not relevant to the bill, Bachmann’s office said.
The amendment would have specified that “a chaplain shall have the prerogative to close the prayer according to the dictates of the chaplain’s own conscience.”
Bachmann’s proposed amendment comes after church-state separationists have tussled with military chaplains over the appropriateness of praying “in Jesus’ name.” Secularists say it’s insulting to nonbelievers; Christian clergy say they know no other way to pray. (emphasis added)
Elohim the Creator
{As with everything else I write on Spiritual matters, the following post is what I sense the Spirit revealing to me now. I am not going to pompously claim, as the clergy, that the Lord has given me all the answers, so I can then give them to you. I am a sojourner, an alien on this planet, seeking the Lord’s Way, Truth, and Life, for me, just like any other child of God. I share what is on my heart, and I know I get carried away sometimes, so I hope all who read these posts will be patient with me!}
ELOHIM: God the Creator of all things.
JEHOVAH: The God of the covenant, the Savior, the Lord.
I’m always cautious of believers, in particular, so-called men-of-God, who speak in terms of God this and God that. I never hear these folks speak “the name that is above every name,” or even suggest that we should be “led by the Spirit of God.” It always makes me wonder if these folks know who the Christ truly is:
10let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of JESUS CHRIST the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by this name this man stands here before you in good health. 11“He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone. 12“And there is salvation in NO ONE ELSE; for there is NO OTHER NAME under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (JEHOVAH: GOD OF THE COVENANT) (Acts 4)
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, IF indeed WE SUFFER with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. (JEHOVAH: GOD OF THE COVENANT) (Romans 8: 14-17)
Jesus the Christ is both Elohim and Jehovah, since everything that exists was, by the will of His (our) Father, created by Him, but He is also the Savior Who has always sought a personal relationship with His children He died to save. The Lord Jehovah is the (Son of) God of the covenant, a personal, relational Son of God, but He is also Elohim, the task oriented Creator of everything that exists; just as the Father, Son and Spirit are Three and One:
1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. (ELOHIM: CREATOR) (John 1)
16“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. (JEHOVAH: COVENANT) (John 3)
19“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (THREE AND ONE)
According to the Word of God, we are called into relationship with Jehovah, He, then, is the basis for our life, since “by no other name can anyone be saved.” If we approach Christ as Elohim, and ONLY speak in terms of “God’s wrath…,” and “God hates…,” etc, etc, then we, according to my Spiritual sense of things, are not in proper relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jehovah, and, therefore, we are also not in proper relationship with His (our) Father, God the Father.
This, in my estimation, is the reason why the political wrangling, between American “evangelists” and Darwinian/feminist/sodomite/atheists (postmodern, constitution-thumping God-haters), over issues such as the Ten Commandments being hung on the walls of government buildings, and government-endorsed phrases like, “One nation under God” and “In God we trust,” mean less than nothing, Spiritually. Our God, according to God the Father, is our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ (Jehovah). Thus, “In God we trust” and “One nation under God” could be referring to Buddha, Mohamed, or any other pagan/human entity. If this country truly knew Elohim/Jehovah, then these phrases would read, “In our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ, we trust,” and “One nation under our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ:”
1The LORD says to my Lord:
“Sit at My right hand
Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”2The LORD will stretch forth Your strong scepter from Zion, saying,
“Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”3Your people will volunteer freely in the day of Your power;
In holy array, from the womb of the dawn,
Your youth are to You as the dew.4The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind,
“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110)
King David states here, “THE LORD SAYS TO MY LORD…” Who is David’s Lord? Jehovah. Who is Jehovah’s and Elohim’s Lord? God the Father. Who do we pray to? God the Father. And in Whose name do we pray to the Father? Jehovah: the name that is above every name, Jesus the Christ.
23“In that day you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. 24“Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full. (John 16)
5Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2)
And the Ten Commandments were fulfilled by our Lord, so why, then, would we need to hang them anywhere? We would only need to hang the two laws that fulfill all the rest, according to the Christ:
34But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38“This is the great and foremost commandment. 39“The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22)
Who is the author and perfecter of our faith, the propitiation for our sins?
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12)
14Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. 16For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham. 17Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. (Hebrews 2)
We were created by the will of God the Father through the work of our Lord (Elohim), Who then became man so He could die for our sins (Jehovah); thus fulfilling the righteous requirements of God the Father for salvation and eternal life. Therefore, it is now Jehovah, the God of the covenant, Whom we should worship and seek with all of our heart and mind.
When all has been prophetically accomplished through Christ (the reconciliation of all things), according to the will of God the Father, then Christ will return all of creation back to the Father:
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5)
All of this may sound rather petty to some, but, to me, it is anything but petty. The real question should be, Do we love our Lord and Savior enough to consider every aspect of our relationship with Him, or are we content just being religious: not cussing, going to “church,” tithing, etc? On this subject, please consider the following short-article’s message:
The Question That Changed My Life, by David Ryser
A number of years ago, I had the privilege of teaching at a school of ministry. My students were hungry for God, and I was constantly searching for ways to challenge them to fall more in love with Jesus and to become voices for revival in the Church. I came across a quote attributed most often to Rev. Sam Pascoe. It is a short version of the history of Christianity, and it goes like this:
Christianity started in Palestine as a fellowship; it moved to Greece and became a philosophy; it moved to Italy and became an institution; it moved to Europe and became a culture; IT CAME TO AMERICA AND BECAME AN ENTERPRISE.
Some of the students were only 18 or 19 years old–barely out of diapers–and I wanted them to understand and appreciate the import of the last line, so I clarified it by adding, “An enterprise. That’s a business.” After a few moments Martha, the youngest student in the class, raised her hand. I could not imagine what her question might be. I thought the little vignette was self-explanatory, and that I had performed it brilliantly. Nevertheless, I acknowledged Martha’s raised hand, “Yes, Martha.” She asked such a simple question, “A business? But isn’t it supposed to be a body?” I could not envision where this line of questioning was going, and the only response I could think of was, “Yes.” She continued, “But when a body becomes a business, isn’t that a prostitute?”
The room went dead silent. For several seconds no one moved or spoke. We were stunned, afraid to make a sound because the presence of God had flooded into the room, and we knew we were on holy ground. All I could think in those sacred moments was, “Wow, I wish I’d thought of that.” I didn’t dare express that thought aloud. God had taken over the class.
Martha’s question changed my life. For six months, I thought about her question at least once every day. “When a body becomes a business, isn’t that a prostitute?” There is only one answer to her question. The answer is “Yes.” The American Church, tragically, is heavily populated by people who do not love God. How can we love Him? We don’t even know Him; and I mean really know Him.
… I stand by my statement that most American Christians do not know God–much less love Him. The root of this condition originates in how we came to God. Most of us came to Him because of what we were told He would do for us. We were promised that He would bless us in life and take us to heaven after death. We married Him for His money, and we don’t care if He lives or dies as long as we can get His stuff. We have made the Kingdom of God into a business, merchandising His anointing. This should not be. We are commanded to love God, and are called to be the Bride of Christ–that’s pretty intimate stuff. We are supposed to be His lovers. How can we love someone we don’t even know? And even if we do know someone, is that a guarantee that we truly love them? Are we lovers or prostitutes? (emphasis added)
“Christianity started in Palestine as a FELLOWSHIP; it moved to Greece and became a PHILOSOPHY; it moved to Italy and became an INSTITUTION; it moved to Europe and became a CULTURE; IT CAME TO AMERICA AND BECAME AN ENTERPRISE.”
This really spells out the downward spiral of the true Church and Body of Jesus the Christ, over the last two-thousand years:
The Church, which the gates of hades could not withstand, began as a
FELLOWSHIP (ecclesia: a gathering).
And then the teachings and doctrines shared in the fellowship became a
PHILOSOPHY, as opposed to the Way, Truth and Life of our Lord (“sound doctrine”).
And then the philosophy became an excuse for an
INSTITUTION, which Constantine began at Rome (a politically-expedient institution, which has everything to do with paganism and nothing to do with Christ).
This institution, then, became what we see dispersed throughout Europe and the rest of the world today,
the CULTURAL, religious entities, Catholicism & Protestantism, which have done more to serve their own worldly agendas than they ever did to serve the Christ and His true Church and Body!
But, lastly, it is this worshiping-at-the-alter-of-capitalism country (America) that has managed to turn the Church and Body of Christ into nothing more than an apostate-lover-of-the-world corporate-venture: an American ENTERPRISE!
Going to “church” on Sunday and acting pious is not an example of the FELLOWSHIP, the ecclesia, that began at Jerusalem two-thousand years ago. That gathering was made up of people who loved the Lord (Jehovah) and devoted themselves to Him and each other. This gathering wasn’t about tithing, a “church” board, the eradication of sin, and being a pious, upstanding member of the business community. No, these folks, two-thousand years ago, were living the Way, Truth and Abundant Life the Lord had come to give everyone of His called-out and chosen ones. These folks didn’t have to be reminded of Who they should have their eyes, minds and hearts set on, they knew, without question, their Lord was Jehovah, and He was the ALL in ALL they needed.
I believe it is important for all of us to comprehend the importance of this Spiritual issue, since none of us, I believe, would want to hear our Lord and Savior, on that day in the near future, say to us what he says in the following scripture:
21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.” (Matthew 7)
This is a follow-up post to “…And You Have No Need For Anyone To Teach You…”
Have any of us, while reading the first three chapters of The Book of Acts (if we have ever bothered to read the Word for ourselves), considered why the Lord had allowed His initial true Church, His Body, to be persecuted by the heathens, to be broken up and scattered throughout the known world at that time? And going even further, have any of us considered why the major city churches mentioned throughout the new testament (Antioch, Philadelphia, Laodicea, Smurna, etc) had all disintegrated by the end of the 1st century? If the Lord had wanted His Church, His Body, to remain as large city churches, then why did he allow them to be broken up and scattered? Is our Lord weaker than his enemy, Satan? Of course not! The Lord allowed His Church, His Body, to be scattered throughout the known world so the Gospel might be spread to all nations of the world.
But I also believe that the true Church, the true Body of Christ, was never intended to become a worldly organization that resembles fallen man’s corrupt way of doing business! The “church,” today, amounts to nothing more than 3000 + small businesses and corporations that don’t pay taxes (come to think of it, the “church” is truly like American corporations, since American corporations pay no taxes also!) The false “church” the world knows today began almost two-hundred years after the true Church of Christ (the ecclesias: the gatherings), which Paul had established, deserted the Lord, and Paul, and fell apart:
15You are aware of the fact that ALL WHO ARE IN ASIA turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains; 17but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me— 18the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus. (2 Timothy 1)
Note that many of the city churches, beyond the Greek, were in Asia!
The “church” the world knows today began in Rome and was founded by a pagan, Roman emperor, Constantine. This “church” was the work of Satan, and it was accomplished through the fallen nature of man, which drives his need for political/social control and power. This “church” had and still has nothing whatsoever to do with the first-century ecclesias the Lord had established through the Apostle Paul. Read the first three chapters of The Book of Acts, and see how the true Church, the true Body of Christ, is described, and then tell me I’m wrong:
42They were (believers) continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
43Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles.
44And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;
45and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.
46Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,
47praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2)
How often do you, or anyone else in your “church,” devote yourself to the Word of God, fellowship, in its true sense, and prayer, not just for you and family but for others also? Do you even know the person sitting next to you in that pagan pew? Would you sell all you own so that none of the people in your “church” would be homeless, without food and clothing, or without proper medical care? You know the answer! The combined wealth of this dead religion you call “Christianity,” and its ungodly denominations and non-denominations (FACTIONS), the things you refer to as “church,” could, but never will, make sure that no person in this country, and probably the entire world, would ever be homeless, without food and clothing, or without proper health care again. But, instead of this happening, most of you are “far-right-conservatives” who cry out, when confronted with the financial crisis the peoples of this world are experiencing, “Let them die!” or “Get a job, ya lazy bum!”
Woe to you, HYPOCRITES, liars and frauds! Woe to you who seek after man’s religion about God on Sunday morning, for 45 minutes, and walk around the rest of the week as though you are pious and righteous men and women. Hypocrites! Fools!
If this offends you, then I am beside myself with joy! You need to be offended, and you need to repent, to turn away, from your religious/political stupor and seek the forgiveness and counsel of the Lord and His Spirit! Come out of the deadness of this false religion about God and begin to live His Way, His Truth, His Life! But I digress.
Satan counterfeits everything the Lord brings into existence. But Satan’s greatest counterfeit of all is the religion referred to as Christianity, the religion born out of Roman paganism. A religion that is now divided into 3000 + denominations and non-denominations throughout the world, none of which truly represent the Father and His Christ!
So, if you go to a building on Sunday mornings where there is a steeple, an alter, an American flag (idolatry), candles and candle sticks (idolatry), a crucifix (more idolatry), and a man or woman wearing robes and “teaching and/or preaching the word of God,” then you are taking part in nothing more than pagan ritualism and idolatry, the pagan traditions of Christianity that make void the Word of God. What you are taking part in is anything but the Way, Truth and Life of our Lord. As was the case with the temple in Jerusalem, after the Hebrew leaders had blasphemed the Spirit of God, the Lord nor His Spirit is in this pagan, ritualistic building (“church”) you have been indoctrinated into believing is the true Church, the true Body of Christ!
Here's the real fruit of the Christian Religion!
1Then God spoke all these words, saying,2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3“YOU SHALL HAVE NO OTHER GODS BEFORE ME.
4“You shall not make for yourself AN IDOL, or ANY LIKENESS (crucifixes, crosses, statues of “saints” = idolatry) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth (flags, patriotic oaths, etc). 5“YOU SHALL NOT WORSHIP THEM OR SERVE THEM; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Exodus 20)
22Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. 23All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” 24But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”
25And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26“If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27“If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28“But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29“Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.
The Unpardonable Sin
30“He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
31“Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32“Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
(Matthew 12)1Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” 3And He answered and said to them, “Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4“For God said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,’ and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.’ 5“But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God,” 6he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ AND BY THIS INVALIDATED THE WORD OF GOD FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR TRADITION. 7“You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you:
8‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,
BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.9‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME,
TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’” (Matthew 15)
For the sake of your denominational or non-denominational TRADITIONS, you have invalidated the Word of God. In vain, you worship God, since you teach and preach the precepts (the doctrines, theology and dogma) of your particular brand of the Christian religion: your “church,” your denomination or non-denomination, your social and business club!
Wake up, sleeper! Come out of this religious deadness and into the Life the Lord has prepared for you! Don’t be like the Hebrews of Jesus’ day, who stood by while listening to their apostate, evil religious leaders, and not be ready for the second return of Christ in great power and glory. This time, neither man’s religion nor government will overcome the judgment and wrath that this evil world rightly has coming to it! This is still the age of grace, the age of God’s favor, but I believe His patience is wearing thin, and this will be the last time that His wrath will be poured out. If you doubt this, then look around you and consider the natural disasters that have plagued humanity for the last 5 or 6 years: the tsunami in Asia (2004), Hurricane Katrina (2005), the tsunami in Japan and the earthquakes, floods, and fires that have ravaged the US of A this year.
18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. (Romans 1)
14“Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. (Deuteronomy 10)
Wake up out of your democratic-capitalist/religious and idolatrous stupor and recognize that the Lord is warning us of impending disaster. Wake up or be unprepared for what is coming!
Is this Guy the Spirit of God? Then why be led by him?
7So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8“All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I CAME THAT THEY MAY HAVE LIFE, AND HAVE IT ABUNDANTLY. (John 10)
These chosen-out-of-the-many people evidently have not, as of yet, experienced the Spirit saying to them, “Come out from among them. Come out from the deadness of religion and into the life and purpose you have been called to. There is no need, nor has there been, for almost two-thousand years now, for a mere man or woman to teach any other mere man or woman about the Father, Son and Me:”
“As many as are led by the Spirit, these are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)
It is the Spirit that will lead us, not a mere man or woman with a degree in knowing about God (theology) or “religious studies”!
But if these folks are the chosen, then they will, sooner or later, follow the leading of the Spirit in them and come out from the deadness of the religion referred to as Christianity. They will come out and be led and taught by the Spirit, since, as Jeremiah and 1 John point out, there is no need for true seekers (the chosen) of the Lord and His life to be led and taught by a mere man or woman:
31“Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. 33“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34“They will NOT TEACH AGAIN, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ FOR THEY WILL ALL KNOW ME, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” DECLARES THE LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31)
This is an old testament prophecy. The following is from the Apostle John in the new testament:
15Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
18Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. 19They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us. 20But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 21I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. 24As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.
25This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.
26These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you. 27As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, AND YOU HAVE NO NEED FOR ANYONE TO TEACH YOU; but as HIS ANOINTING TEACHES YOU ABOUT ALL THINGS, and is true and is not a lie, AND JUST AS IT HAS TAUGHT YOU, you abide in Him.
28Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. 29If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. (1 John 2)
Jesus Himself foretold of this truth:
25“These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. 26“But the Helper, THE HOLY SPIRIT, whom the Father will send in My name, HE WILL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. (John 14)
So why do we, if we believe the scriptures to be the inspired Word of God, go to “church” every Sunday morning and listen to the priests, popes, ministers, pastors, reverends, etc? And, based on the Word of God, why would we even take part in these denominations and non-denominations that spawn these contrary-to-the-Word-of-God religious careers? If we thump the bible, then why can’t we read it, believe it, and then act on what it is telling us to do, through the Spirit that indwells us; that is, if we have the Spirit of our Lord?
Christianity is a religion that is divided into over 3000 FACTIONS, which are all at odds with each other. How does this divided religion of man resemble in any way the Body, the Church, the Bride, of Christ described in scripture?
16But I say, walk [BE LED] by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. 17For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. 19Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, FACTIONS, 21envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5)
Factions: 1) A group of persons forming a cohesive, usually contentious minority within a larger group
Does this definition of factions, in any way, shape or form, portray the unity of the Spirit spoken of in other scriptures?
1Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, 3BEING DILIGENT TO PRESERVE THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT IN THE BOND OF PEACE. 4There is ONE BODY and ONE SPIRIT, just as also you were called in ONE HOPE of your calling; 5ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM, 6ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL who is over all and through all and in all. (Ephesians 4)
The Word of God states there is ONE SPIRIT, ONE LORD, ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL, not 3000 + factions that, over the past 6 or 700 years, have been at odds with each other over man-made and manipulated theology and doctrines. Christianity is a man-made, inspired and manipulated religious farce that smacks our Lord and Savior in the face every day of the week! Where is the unity of the Spirit, the ONENESS IN CHRIST, in the 3000 + denominations and non-denominations that make up the Christian religion. The Christian religion is just like every other religion invented by man: it is for man and his desires, his need for control and power and nothing more.
So why be led by any human being who serves this Godless, dead religious system? When the Word of God tells us there is no longer any need for a man to teach another man about the Lord, why do most of us still refuse to listen and thus continue to be misled Spiritually every Sunday morning and the rest of the week?
10Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be NO DIVISIONS AMONG YOU (FACTIONS), but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” 13HAS CHRIST BEEN DIVIDED? (1 Corinthians)
The practice of religion is not a Spirit led life in Christ! We must make the decision on whom we will listen to, follow and serve, either man or the Lord. It is our responsibility!
P.S.
Satan will use scripture in order to confuse the chosen, just like he attempted to do with Jesus in the desert. “Do not forsake the gathering together” has nothing at all to do with what most of you call “church.” The gathering, the ecclesia, can be two or more coming together to live the life the Lord came and died to give them. The gathering has nothing at all to do with religion, it has to do with the abundant life that we have been offered, here and now!
19“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. 20“For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Matthew 18: 19-20)
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