"Come quickly, Jesus." How rude!

Conspiracy theories have always been with us, but the recent trials of the COVID-19 pandemic have brought out the worst in them. Government control, New World Order, and other common themes have shown up on social media and elsewhere. Often Christians will ponder the return of the Lord in concert with this. "Come quickly, Lord" is the word.

Consider This: do you realize you're praying to condemn your unsaved family, friends, and neighbors?

No matter what end-times belief you may hold, the return of Christ is the end for many people. Some might believe that some might be saved during the 7-year Tribulation, if that's how it goes down. Most will agree, though, that it'll be more Hell on Earth than it is now.

If you care about others as the Lord would have us do, why would you want that?

Most people believe that the whole thing hasn't gone down yet simply because God is still waiting for the stragglers. In His grace and mercy, He is giving everyone one last chance. That should be a good thing. Why do we Christians want to mess that up?

Instead of praying for the Lord to come back, how about reaching out to your family, friends, and neighbors in love, telling them what Christ has done for you? Don't push them or scare the Hell out of them (literally). Pray for them, if nothing else.

So You Want To Go Back To Egypt?

A friend shared this with me today. (For those who might be reading this after Spring, 2020, look up info on COVID-19.) The whole Coronavirus pandemic has many of us freaking out. Gyms are closed. Restaurants have gone carry out only. Some states are taking extreme measures to keep people from gathering together and potentially spreading a virus that currently has no cure, but had caused thousands of deaths worldwide in less than 6 months.

People are scared.

I'm scared of what some of these people are doing.

This image for me thinking, though. When I go to work, people are rushing to the gym. People want to go to the beach (yeah, Florida problems). New York City, the "city that never sleeps," just went into lockdown, so they all want to come to relatively unaffected Florida. Gee, thanks.

Back to the content of the image, though. While I'm not fond of the reference to the plagues of Egypt (we are still in Heaven compared to them), the point remains that the First World is spoiled rotten.

I'd add to the last line. We don't want to worship God in spirit and truth, but in either legalistic rituals that carry no substance or exciting rock concerts with fog, loud music, and incessant babbling that we claim is "tongues," regardless of how many violations of 1 Corinthians 14 there are. We want to think we are in charge, and that God must honor what we think He promised me (everybody else must be a heathen).

He had taken all that away, too. Many churches are meeting online rather in person. Of course some think that is blasphemy. I seem to recall similar accusations made against a Jewish carpenter a couple of millennia ago.

Is God punishing the world? Is He pouring out His wrath? Have the End Times begun? I don't think so, especially since this one truly good guy named Job went through worse, and it really wasn't his fault.

I do think we all need to wake up and examine what we've considered important for so long. Then we need to ask ourselves the same thing the Israelites had to face during their journey as documented in Exodus: do we really want to go back to all that, and be vulnerable again? Or maybe it's time to move on.

By the way, in case you're not as ancient as I, the title comes from a great song by the late Keith Green.

Grief and Misery vs. Grace and Mercy

As some of you may have noticed, it's been a while since I've posted anything to this blog. Many probably thought I had abandoned the blog. Well, not really. Something called "life" got in the way. My wife discovered she had cancer, and 7 years later she succumbed.

That's not the entire reason, though, why I paused. We had started going to a church that sounded great. They taught "expositionally" (verse-by-verse) through the Bible, with a topical flavor to it. People wanted to be there to learn, not just to perform. People were coming in from all around, sick and tired of the meaningless ritual and hungry for God's Word.

Two things happened, though. The first was with me. I got lazy. In my previous church, I knew I wasn't going to be blessed by the beautiful music or the responsive reading or the "sermonettes for Christian-ettes." I sensed God wanted me there to feel like I belonged, and to show some of them what life in Christ was really about. That's life, 24/7, not just on Sunday morning. (I don't want to mention why I felt ashamed to attend church board meetings.)

In this new place, I was being fed. I didn't have to do as much heavy-lifting. It was all truth straight from Scripture. Wasn't it?

Something changed, though. Encouragement for growing in Christ became a focus on "doing life right." That turned into "obeying the commands of the Lord." Now, don't think I'm trying to dismiss the Ten Commandments or anything. I won't even say that calling baptism a "command from the Lord" was incorrect. They missed a vital point, though: what about those who couldn't obey every single precise command they pronounced? Were they shown grace and mercy publicly?

Nope.

Instead, the vibe tended to be towards making them feel guilty for "disobeying the Lord."

It got worse. The senior pastor at one time, in one service (the one that didn't get recorded, of course), pronounced that married couples who didn't raise children -- either their own or adoptees -- were disobeying God's command! After service I asked him about this, and he sounded like he was desperately trying to back-pedal, with comments like "oh, it's a personal issue when you do this" and so forth. He never said he was mistaken, though.

I understand, or at least I've been told, that some people feel like they can "get away with disobeying," like little children hiding. I also know that I never depended on that, because it never worked for me. (I'd get blamed for stuff I didn't do anyhow, so what's the difference?) If adults really are that immature, then I suppose an emphasis on "accountability" and the like makes some sense.

God still loves us, though! Check out Romans 8:31-39. John 3:16-21. We still sin, yet Jesus took the death those sins cause and nailed them with His own body on the cross! Yes, sins still have earthly consequences. Yes, we should experience some grief and misery as the Holy Spirit convicts (but doesn't condemn) us. That shouldn't be the overriding emphasis from the pulpit, though! We all need grace and mercy, not guilt and misery!

Like I said above, if you feel no guilt and misery, the problem isn't the disobedience. The problem is your personal, one-on-one relationship with God. Encouragement to get that business settled is a good thing. I hope this little paragraph serves as that encouragement. But there's still hope.

Because of my upbringing, I beat myself up too much, according to my mother and my late wife, over little things. I don't believe for a moment that I'm going to get away with anything in the sight of God. I let myself get beat up over "willful disobedience," about not having children, about missing several other commands.

I had lost faith that God still accepted me.

I got lost in the grief and misery, never seeing the grace and mercy.

Fool's Gold: Fruit of the Spirit

We have tests. We have pop-up quizzes. We have so many ways to discover what "fruit of the Spirit" we have, what we should have, and how we're going to Hell because we don't have that one particular one your church demands (*coughTonguescough*).

Daniel Emery Price of the Christ Hold Fast blog has done a far better job of demonstrating the problem than I could. Click on the link above to read one of the best articles I've read in quite a while!

Fool's Gold: Overwhelming Happiness

I'm sure you've heard songs such as, “There is Joy in the Lord,” “Joy To The World,” and numerous others. (Since I’m married to a Joy, I have probably heard more than most. 😁) For many people, though, that “joy” seems to be all they seek after. If they feel good, then they are “blessed.” If not, then maybe it’s their fault for “quenching the spirit” or lacking “faith.”

Church people have started to seek after some dangerous things. This is the first of a series I’m calling “Fool’s Gold.” I don’t use the term “fool” in judgment, only to express how many people have been fooled by so much that the modern-day church does.

One of the many things that have distracted me from this blog lately has been the death of my mother-in-law. She was raised Pentecostal Holiness, a combination that seems rather dangerous if you dig into it. She and my father-in-law once visited a Freewill Baptist church. Her response was that “they don't believe in the Holy Spirit.” I asked my wife what she meant, and she said they weren’t clapping, jumping, and raising a ruckus during service.

This style of service used to be reserved for “Charismatic” congregations or (pardon my antiquated terminology here) “churches for black folks.” They were loud, active, and definitely spirited. In more modern times, though, this has leaked into what most call “contemporary services” aimed at attracting younger people. Of course, every side has its own opinions on the merits and failures of their side vs. the other side. That in itself makes me think of the house divided against itself (Mark 3:23-26), but that’s another subject.

Loud volumes produce adrenaline, according to several articles I have read. It gives way to the thrill of the adrenaline rush that makes thrill rides such as roller coasters fun for many people. The problem is that continued adrenaline can cause medical issues down the road.

Consider This: if you go to a church to feel good, what happens when you stop feeling good?

Jesus offered a different look at how life in Him works. He referred to suffering (Romans 5:1-5), persecution, and other unpleasant situations. Some choose to “fake it ’til you make it” with a deceiving smile. Is that not a lie? Is that, therefore, not a sin?

There are going to be days when the faithful will find himself or herself in dire straits. Just look at the book of Job! Depressing? It can be, even when trying to lift some measure of hope from it. I’ve been there lately, with a number of medical and family issues going down. Do I “speak positive into the situation?” Job didn’t! He admitted that he hurt. He also retained his faith in God!

Consider This: if you go to a church to worship God, what happens when you don’t feel good?

The person who worships a feeling will find that feelings don’t make good foundations of faith. They aren’t faithful. They don’t deserve our trust. Only Christ does.

Being Anxious For Nothing, Just Anxious!

I haven't been a fan of many blogs lately. Some remain steadfast, but too many "Christian" blogs have turned away from God's truth to embrace something else.

One blogger, Tim Challies, has always been unique for me. Recently he had a guest post that struck home with me. It can be found at this link: Some things you should know about Christians who struggle with anxiety. I suggest you read it through, then return here.

Welcome back. I know some will poo-poo the whole concept of anxiety being outside of one's control. If you feel that way — if you think that uncontrollable anxiety is on par with the LGBTQIA excuse of "God made me that way" and you cannot accept it — then feel free to stop here. Thanks.

For those who didn't ditch, let me say that I can empathize all too well with Adam Ford's situation. I have had various degrees of panic and anxiety attacks as far back as I can recall. Social anxiety comes and goes for me. My mother has noted that the symptoms of panic/anxiety disorder have run in her family, and I've been able to see it now that I'm aware of it.

Too many people pull out Philippians 4:6, with its admonition to "be anxious about nothing." While I encourage you to read the rest of the context, of course, I will say that those of us with PAD do precisely that: be anxious for nothing. Such anxiety attacks pop up out of the clear blue with no discernable cause, other than our bodies decide they need to do it.

So many want to point the finger of accusation, or to beat down the "sin" with a barrage of out-of-context verses. Trust me, it just comes off as condemning.

I consider my disorder to be my equivalent of Paul's humbling thorn in the flesh. It reminds me that I am not in control. It reminds me that I am imperfect. It reminds me that I am dependent on the mercy and grace bought for me on the cross.

Consider This: aren't we all?

Acceptance or Hatred? God says, "Neither, and Both!"

I really haven't wanted to dwell on this, but I must. It seems that, according to popular opinion, a Christian must either accept a sin, or hate the person. After all, that's what God does, right?

Wrong!

Look carefully at John 3:1-21. This is what I like to call "the Gospel in a nutshell." This is the executive summary, the elevator speech, the short form of Jesus' purpose for being born, dying, and being resurrected. This is the real "love chapter" in the Bible, because it shows just how much God loves each and every one of us. Yep, He even loved the Pharisees, Judas Iscariot, Pilate, you, and me. He didn't send Jesus into the world to condemn every single sinner. We did that ourselves! God sends no one to Hell; we book that trip ourselves. It's a much easier trip, but the brochure doesn't really give an accurate picture of the destination.

We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God! (Romans 3:23) BUT God loved us enough to provide the way to save us. All we need to do is accept the terms of the offer. 

 (Romans 3:19-26)

God is love, and God in us causes us to love others (1 John 4:7-14). Therefore, anyone in whom the spirit of God resides cannot hate the drunk, the murderer, the homosexual, or anyone else. We all still fall short, because we continue to live in a world rich with temptation, and we are still arrogant, self-hroghcentered, and stupid. That is our failure, not God's.

So why do so many LGBTQs say we hate them? Why do Muslims who act in a peaceful manner believe we hate them? Too often it's because we remain arrogant, self-centered, and stupid. Too often we are out of tune with the Holy Spirit (the real one, not the emotional high some believe is Him). Too often we are total failures at communication. On the other hand, too often homosexuals identify so closely with their choices that they cannot distinguish between the two. Too often Muslims adhere to the religion of their family and society that they do not see the difference.

We need to ensure we differentiate between the two.

We must not hate the homosexual. We must hate the sin, and we may mourn the trap of reasoning that they fall into, but we must not hate the person. They may see it as, "God made me that way," but we must realize that is no more nor no less true than God making me with depression and anxiety disorder. Both are just as accurate as saying that a man cannot help but be "turned on" by another woman, or vice versa.

If I cannot make that distinction, then perhaps it's far better to keep my mouth (or keyboard) inactive and allow God to work through all lives involved.

Rapture Rupture

As I write this, many Christian communities are packing their bags, ready for the Big Event. So much had been said about the fourth "blood moon" coming up tonight that it had almost become sickening.

Everybody is ready for the Rapture!

For those who somehow have been protected from all the ruckus, the Rapture is the alleged event that shall occur before, during, or after the Great Teibulation, depending on which interpretation you choose. (Yes, I know some interpretations don't even bring in the Rapture, and at least one variation puts end-times prophesy mostly at the Masada incident. Let's not get into that debate, please.) This event, popularized by a variety of works including the Left Behind series of books and movies, causes all "true" Christians to leave the Earth suddenly. Again, the details of the departure and who is a "true Christian" has been thrown about with disgusting arrogance.

Consider This: what if we're ALL wrong about the Rapture?

Wouldn't it be a shock to discover that the Rapture has already hapened, but only 144,000 or so people disappeared … a number so small that nobody even noticed?

What would that mean for those of us "left behind?" Would it mean we should never have watched that R-rated movie on the "Sabbath?" Would it mean we should've joined this or that church, even though they all got left behind as well?

Maybe, just maybe, we were so focused on blood moons and the alledgedly "correct" and "uncorrupted by Greek" name of the Son of God that we failed to help the least of those among us. Maybe, instead of looking for signs and wonders, we needed to look for those whose last days are today or tomorrow, about to die without hope. Maybe, instead of being on street corners pushing tracts and pithy sayings in the hands and faces of random people, we needed to tell them the simple Gospel, such as can be found in John 3:1-21? Nothing complex, no rituals or rites, just simple truth and hope. "Jesus Christ, and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2) instead of tongues and rosaries, church committees and home groups, accountability and "miracles."

Another Guest Post

To be honest, I am considering either changing this blog or creating a new one. Lately I've been more introspective and wanting to be a bit more generalized. I don't know yet.

Anyhow, you can find my second guest post revealing my heart at http://randomlychad.com/2013/11/its-not-just-divorce.html today.

Forgiveness - My First Guest Post!

I know I haven't been very diligent at posting lately, but when I don't have anything to write, I don't write.

I'm considering, though, starting a second blog that is a bit more general than this one. It's inspired by one a friend of mine writes. In fact, he asked me to write a guest post for him last year, and I finally got around to doing it.

You can read my guest post on forgiving my father here, at Randomly Chad.

Good Grief!

Someone close to me recently lost a cousin to cancer. It was a multi-whammy for her, since she herself was just decreed "in remission" from a different type of cancer, but more so because she had been very close to this cousin for most of her life.

The thing that surprised me, though, is that she was afraid of admitting that she was grieving!

It seems that a particular church (for which I have little respect, based on what she had been taught there for too many years) shamed those who actually didn't "celebrate" when a child of God passed away. Grief, it seemed, was either a sin, or something not to be felt by a Christian.

I have no idea where they got that bit of theological illogic, but it certainly wasn't from a thorough reading of Scripture.

Consider †his: if Jesus did something, it's nothing that should bring shame.

So when did Jesus grieve?

The shortest verse in the Bible, in just about all English translations of which I am aware, is John 11:35. Even the usually-wordy Amplified Bible keeps it at 2 words. (If you're interested, Bible Gateway can show you how all of its English translations render this one verse.) "Jesus wept." Simple enough. But why did He weep? The full story is found in John 11:1-44. This is the story of Lazarus, brother to Mary and Martha, a family that was near and dear to Jesus' heart even though they weren't part of his traveling band. You probably know the story. Lazarus had died, Jesus chose to wait to go there, and when He did, He brought Lazarus back to life, making his name synonymous with restoration of life.

Jesus wept!

Why did Jesus do that? "Certainly" it couldn't have been because His friend was dead. After all, He seemed to know that He was going there to restore him to life. Perhaps it was due to the strong feelings of his sisters and other friends, including the one that came to bring Jesus to them.

Or maybe it's the obvious answer: Jesus grieved for his friend.

Sound wrong? Too bad. We're not to judge what the Bible says based on our own preconceived ideas. One of the reasons I started this blog was to challenge those preconceived ideas that don't really match what Scripture says. This is one of the big ones, though I pray it's not as common as I fear it is.

 Christians are called to joy, but that doesn't mean insane laughter or happiness or any of the other bits of garbage emotionally-driven churches try to push. There are times of sadness. There are times of grief. There are times of trial and emotional depression. There are even times of anxiety and distress. Jesus went through all of these. Why do we think we won't? Why do we think we shouldn't?

Grief is normal. Grief is even healthy. There should be no shame accepted or poured on those who grieve the loss of a Christian. Even though we know we will see them again, the forced separation that will remain for the rest of our own lives is not a situation we can just push aside. As temporary as it is for Christians, the separation caused by death is the second greatest separation we can experience. (The first is when God isn't in us or the loved one, making the separation eternal.) Consider †his: death is not a separation we were intended to endure. Such separation came about because of sin. Sin causes even greater grief, in more ways than one.

So don't put shame on those who grieve. Put the shame on those who reject grief and those who grieve.

"Giving an account"

OK, maybe it’s just me, but years ago I recall someone teaching on Romans 14:12 and getting seriously scared about God. No, I’m not talking about the fear of the Lord that’s the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 1:7; 15:33). I’m talking about getting so scared of what He will do when we first meet “eye to eye” in Heaven that I obsess about every little thing here on Earth.

In case you haven’t already looked at the verse using the little popups, it reads in the ESV:

So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Add to that Matthew 12:36, which reads:

I tell you, on that day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.

Mix well with tons of legalism, and you get one paranoid Christian!

Once again, though, chopping up the Bible into little bits and trying to piece them back together into what I call “Scripture Slaw” produces an inaccurate representation of God’s truth. Take a look at all of Romans 14 to get the context, as well as more of Matthew 12.

Consider †his: giving an account of what we did doesn’t remove God’s view of our lives as though we lived Jesus’ life.

We have no condemnation in Christ (Romans 8:1). Even though we still sin, God’s grace reigns. (That’s not a license to sin, though, as Paul addresses elsewhere in Romans, 1 Corinthians, and other letters.) The judgement those in Christ go through won’t include a stern-face God shaking His finger at us like naughty children, demanding we squirm as we try to given an excuse for the inexcusable, as we are shown our failures when our best wasn’t “good enough.”

This particular fear was something I have had for decades, I just recently realized. I don’t recall what false teaching I heard early in my days in Christ that supported this thought, but it has partially paralyzed me spiritually until recently.

Normally a “good blogger” would ask a question to engage comments from the readers at this point. All I’m going to do this time, though, is ask you simply to consider what I’ve said, and ask that you pass it on to those who might be stuck in the same trap as I’ve been. Also pray for them, and for me, for continued freedom from this paralysis of fear. Thank you.

Hating Homosexuals and Hens

So today’s the “big day.” Today is the official Mike Huckabee-generated Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day. Lines have been reported all over the place, many times out the door, in some cases even down the road (cars waiting to drive through or park, that is).

For those who may have tried to ignore it all, the fast-food chain’s president recently came “out of the closet” and proclaimed support of traditional marriage, i.e., one man and one woman (presumably both born that way).

Many have reacted to this so-called “hatred” with … well, hatred.

What hatred?

Apparently it’s OK to hate and be intolerant of those who disagree with you and your “love” and “tolerance.” But only if you agree with something the Bible says, and I agree with the world.

Consider †his: isn’t that what Jesus told us would happen anyhow, in John 15:12-25 and Mark 13:9-13?

The problem with, in this case, the supporters of same-gender marriage is the same problem that people who support any type of sin (and, yes, sorry, practicing homosexuality is just as much of a sin as adultery, fornication, lust, lying, murder, and — oh, yeah — hatred) have. They want to do something that God says isn’t a good thing to do.

That’s nothing new. John the Baptist told Herod that his marriage to his cousin-in-law, Herodias, was wrong. Herod locked John up (Luke 3:18-20), and Herodias’ hatred of John is what caused her to compel Herod to have him beheaded (Matthew 14:1-12 & Mark 6:17-29).

That was back then, though. Now we “know” that we are, at best, evolved animals. As the script for one old computer game said, “we are chemical processes, and nothing more.” So why shouldn’t we just let “love” (which is itself a chemical process for reproduction, so we can also call it “lust”) be “right?” That’s how we’re made, after all.

Hopefully everybody sees the sarcasm in the previous paragraph.

Now, I know all too well how body chemistry can mess up the mind. I have been diagnosed with depression, panic disorder, general anxiety disorder, and I have the symptoms of several other disorders that make the term “too blessed to be stressed” sound like an alien language to me. Does that mean that I claim anxiety is not a sin, even though passages such as Matthew 6:25-33, Matthew 10:19, Mark 13:11, Luke 12:22-31, and Philippians 4:4-7 seem to say otherwise?

Nope, I’m not claiming that my body doesn’t make me sin. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. Maybe it’s not a sin if my physical body produces hormones that cause me to act a certain way. Maybe it is a sin, but grace covers those sins, too.

Whatever the case, my desires and my body do not determine what is sin. God alone does!

Both sides need to stop hating the messengers. The “tolerant” are deceived. Their father is the father of lies (John 8:43-45), and they proclaim his message. Some will turn and see the light, while others never will. Some follow Christ, yet still support those who claim to be homosexual.

I need to make one thing clear at this point. I just said that some claim to be homosexual. The claim often simply mean they are tempted with same-gender attraction, but do not take it beyond that, just as many are tempted to lust after the opposite gender. Temptation is not sin. I do not have the right to accuse anyone who claims to be homosexual of sin. I can tell them what the Bible says, but the choice is still theirs to make, just as it is my choice to fall where I am weak. Many are confused. Some want to throw their blatant sin into the face of anyone who disagrees with them, though, demanding acceptance their way. Sorry, no can do.

So how is all this going to play out? This will eventually die down, and the haters will seem to have a victory, then drag everyone through the mud with the next big thing that feels good with no true godliness. It’s in our nature. Just as chickens lay eggs, the unrepentant sinner will find something else to stir hatred. One day, though, the consistently unrepentant sinners will have egg on their faces as they discover that they don’t rule the roost after all.

A Gospel for the Middle: A Synchroblog

Today I’m taking a “synchroblog” challenge from Frank Viola. The idea is to repost his hypothetical, but quite realistic, scenario, then write your answer to the question at the end.

Before I do that, though, I should note that this scenario is anything but hypothetical to me. I was Fielding for the first 2 years of my life in Christ. My mother still is.

After I present my answer, I’d like to hear your own response to the question at the end.

So, here’s the scenario:

---

The following exercise is from the synchroblog at http://frankviola.org/2012/07/09/gospelforthemiddle

Fielding Melish and his wife Felicia have two children, ages 10 and 6. They live in a very remote part of Maine, USA. They are surrounded by extended family, none of whom are Christians. The nearest churches are one hour away, and by all evangelical standards, none of them are good. These churches are either highly legalistic, highly libertine, or just flat-out flaky.

One of Fielding’s cousins is a practicing Christian. They see each other once a year. Fielding’s cousin has shared Christ with Fielding many times over the years. Whenever they’ve talked about spiritual things, Fielding shows interest.

Felicia grew up in a Christian home. She’s received Christ, but she isn’t evangelistic and is overwhelmed with working long hours and raising two small children. She would love to find a church nearby for the spiritual support and instruction, but none exist.

Fielding has no college education. While he is capable of reading, he is not a reader. He doesn’t use the Web either. He’s a man who works with his hands, both for his career and for recreation. He’s an “outdoorsman.” He hunts, he builds, he does manual labor, etc. In his spare time, he helps his elderly parents with various building projects.

Fielding is not an atheist. Neither is he an agnostic. He believes in God. He believes Jesus is the Savior of the world who died for our sins and rose again from the dead. He hasn’t fully surrendered his life to Christ, but he is not sure what that looks like exactly. His children know a little about the Lord, mostly because of what their mother has taught them.

Recently Fielding asked this question:

When I’m with my cousin once a year, I want to learn more about God. But when I come back home, and I’m around everyone else, my mind is off of God, and I am back to working, raising my kids, and helping my parents. Someone needs to come up with a solution for people like me . . . people who are in the middle. (By “in the middle,” Fielding means someone who believes in Jesus, but who isn’t fully absorbed in the faith yet either. They simply don’t know enough nor do they have any spiritual support system around them.)

Relocating is not an option for Fielding and his wife. Even if they wanted to relocate, they don’t see a way they could do it financially.

Remember: Fielding and his wife don’t personally know any Christians. None of their extended family or coworkers are believers either. And the nearest churches (which are an hour away) aren’t recommended.

Question: If you were Fielding’s cousin, how would you instruct him and his wife the next time you saw them?

---

Before I answer, I have to make a few assumptions here (since I’m an engineer, I have to list them):

• By “extended family,” I assume Fielding’s cousin is not among them, though his parents presumably are. The cousin isn’t close enough to see the Melish family more often than once a year.
• Fielding doesn’t use the Web, and may resist using the Web.

OK, with that, here’s how I’d see the conversation between Fielding and his cousin going:

---

Cousin:	You know, Fielding, I’ve been thinking a lot about something you said last time. You said you and Felicia would love to find a church in your area.
Fielding:	Yeah, but you seem to like any of them near us. (laughing) Seriously, I see why you don’t. Felicia isn’t too thrilled with that idea, either.
Cousin:	From what you’ve said about them, I don’t really think they’d do you much good. I know you don’t like the Internet…
Fielding:	No way! Besides, our computer is so old, I don’t think anything new would work on it.
Cousin:	It might, but you’re probably right. All the churches I can think of use stuff that your old machine won’t run well, if at all. They block folks like you who don’t want to upgrade, or can’t afford to.
Fielding:	Yeah, have you seen the prices for the new models?
Cousin:	Too often. But, hey, you can play CDs and DVDs on something, right?
Fielding:	Well, yeah, but it’s hard to watch a DVD while I’m out in the workshop.
Cousin:	How about an audio CD? Like an audio book?
Fielding:	I don’t know. It can get pretty noisy when I’m out there, although I guess I could crank the volume up a bit.
Cousin:	Here’s what I’m thinking. Our little church doesn’t record their services yet, but I’m thinking about asking them if they would let me do it. I’d like to tap into their sound board directly, but something with a microphone would work, too. I could record the pastor’s message each week, burn them onto a CD, and mail them to you for you to hear.
Fielding:	That’s a little impersonal, isn’t it? I mean, what if I’ve got a question about what he says? Or what if I don’t agree with something he says?
Cousin:	That’s a good point. Maybe you could write them down and mail them to me, or to my pastor, if he’s willing?
Fielding:	I’d rather ask you. I don’t mean any offense to your pastor, but I don’t know him. You know I don’t have a college education, either. I wouldn’t want to look stupid to him.
Cousin:	You wouldn’t, but I understand.
Fielding:	The big problem is having the time to do all that. I’m so busy with Mom and Pop sometimes that I don’t even have time to be in my workshop. I guess I could listen to the CD in my car, but if the road’s noisy, or the kids are, I wouldn’t be able to pay attention.
Cousin:	True. Some of the roads you have to take require undivided attention. How about you and Felicia take an hour once a week, like you would if you were in a nearby church, and listen to the CD?
Fielding:	That would take care of that problem. I guess we could carve out some time like that. I could also watch some of those television preachers.
Cousin:	Um, not all of them are that great. I can give you some suggestions for those to watch for, and those to watch out for.

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For the record, this isn’t how my mother and I have handled it. God found us outside of a church setting (or, rather, in spite of a church setting), and that was that. She learned how to get by without any substantial “support system,” while God provided several through halfway-decent churches, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship in college, and so forth. The area where we were all “born and raised,” though, sounds too much like the Maine setting of this scenario. Mom had tried to get a home study led by a Calvary Chapel pastor from 60 miles away, but there wasn’t enough local interest to make it worth his trip.

So how would you address Fielding’s situation?

Your Turn: Commands vs. Requests

One of the purposes of this blog has always been to make people think about what they believe, and where their assumptions about their faith come from. I’ve never wanted anyone to doubt their faith or their salvation, but I do want to encourage people to think for themselves, rather than rely on what some preacher or nutcase has said, or what they learned from their youth.

Sometimes, though, there are topics I have problems with myself. I don’t have the responsive readership of the “big-time blogs,” so I rarely get much discussion. That’s disappointing to me, because I don’t want anyone to think I’m always right. I don’t want to be the misleading nutcase!

From time to time, I want to put forth a question or topic I’d like to hear about from others.

Today’s topic for discussion: how does God treat a “command” to His children differently from a “request?” Also, does God make demands of those who are saved?

Now, in this, please note that I’m speaking strictly on those who are saved. I’m also assuming, contrary to what some churches teach, that God doesn’t toss us into the line for the direct bus to Hell if we have a lustful thought or request Him to condemn someone by accident. I assume that, though God “cannot look on sin,” that He sees Christ’s sacrifice instead of our sin. (Habbakuk 1:13 seems to be the main verse for that one, though in context it indicates that God cannot look on sin and not punish the guilty ones, which would be Christ for those who have accepted His sacrifice)

My problem is that I cannot see the essential difference between a “command” (as compared to a “commandment”) and a “request” or “desire” as far as the believer is concerned. If we are right with God, we will want to do what He wants. He shouldn’t have to command; a request should be sufficient.

Is there some sort of earthly “punishment” if we do not obey His commands? Do we lose our salvation?

I’d like some discussion on this. Please do support your comments from Scripture, and discuss the topic or comments, not the people making the comments.

Can “Willful Disobedience” Send You to Hell?

The following is a response to a Christian Post article by Dan Delzell, entitled Can Deliberate Sin Negate Your Conversion Experience? I put it here because (a) it's pertinent to the blog, and (b) my response is too long for CP's comment system. :)

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Oh, boy, this is a big one for me, though not quite in the direction Dan takes it.

Consider This: there are plenty of people who have been told they are sinning willfully or deliberately who have lost hope.

I’ve been married for just over 18 years now. We cannot have children of our own. I was abused emotionally as a child, I believe. I hated my father for years, and still find bits of bitterness about some of the attitudes he had. That’s not the “deliberate sin,” though, that I want to address.

Several years ago the pastor of a large church I attended (which had no formal membership), someone I trusted to speak the truth, said something offhandedly at the end of a message. I don’t recall the message, nor the Scripture he used to support this, but he said, in effect, that it was a sin for a married couple to choose to be child-free. Adoption was an option, he noted, for those who could not have children of their own. After the service I went up & asked him about that particular detail. He back-pedaled a bit with comments about the matter of when one had children is personal, but he never retracted his statement. (For the record, there were times when I’d ask him about other things, and he did indeed retract what he said, or at least clarified it and made sure he would clarify it in later services.) From what I can gather, he did not make that same statement in the other two weekend services, but the damage was done for me.

I truly thought that I could not be headed for Heaven because I was willfully “disobeying” a “command” from God to be child-free.

I should also note here that I have clinical depression with anxiety, probably due to malfunctioning or fatigued glands, probably inherited from my mother’s side of the family. (We haven’t gone through the genetic testing to prove this; this is our best guess based on family knowledge of symptoms.) Anxiety attacks can manifest as anger attacks, since anger often is a secondary emotion arising from anxiety or stress — the “fight or flight” mechanism choosing the “fight” or “Hulk-out” mode. I have been, and continue to be, afraid of being around children at times. I have to leave the area if I can sense an attack about to happen. Their high-pitched squeals don’t help in that area, either, due to presumed hyperacusis.

Simply put: I do not feel safe around children.

To believe all that, and then be told by a trusted pastor that being child-free is a sin, led me to the conclusion that my continued choice in that area meant I was willfully disobeying a command from God. Is that not another way of saying “deliberate sin?”

The point here is that we must be absolutely careful about what we call “deliberate sin,” and recognize that God’s grace remains sufficient if our hearts are turned towards Him. He knows us better than we know ourselves. So does His enemy and ours, Satan, who knows exactly where to poke us to make us think we are without hope.

The only one of us without hope is the one who has chosen to give up the source of hope.

Square Pegs, Round Holes, and Gaps

Have you ever tried to fit the proverbial square peg into a round hole? Yeah, with a jackhammer it can work, or after ruining peg and/or hole. Is it really worth doing, though?

That’s how I’ve felt lately with writing in general. Obviously I haven’t written a blog article for way too long. Most people would’ve written me off (and probably did). It hasn’t been for lack of trying. I could use a litany of reasons or excuses for the “break,” including the discovery of neuroendocrine carcinoid tumors in my wife’s liver, the “holidays,” stress at work, too much Facebook time, and so forth. Each one of those would have some validity to them, too.

The real reason is that I haven’t had anything to write about that is working for me.

I wanted to start a verse-by-verse study through Romans, especially since I learned that the Emerging/Emergent Church movement, which favors unity over truth, wishes that evangelicals “rip out” that book from the Bible. I also know that I need to get back to an in-depth personal study of the Bible. I’ve also considered a similar study in Colossians, since people like Kenneth Copeland quote copiously from it to support their own heresies.

So far, though, both of these have worked as well as square pegs in round holes. They don’t fit.

So I sit here and, as it may appear to others, let my blog languish, as if I don’t care about it. Sorry, but that’s simply not true. I do care about it. I care about those few readers who have made a commitment to follow it, either via Facebook, RSS, Google Friend Connect, or perhaps even through the Feedburner feed that I can no longer access. (Which reminds me, if anybody knows how to contact a real Google support person who might be able to figure out why the password & security question I recall and recorded do not work, I’d appreciate an email address.)

I care enough about this blog to let it sit, rather than to publish junk.

I care enough about this blog to sacrifice quantity for quality.

Sorry, no square pegs in round holes here.

There are numerous blogs out there that will deluge you with content, some of them breaking the rules in the opposite fashion by putting out numerous posts per day. Sometimes I think I’d like to have the quality content and time to do just that.

Right now, I do not.

Thanks to all reading this for bearing with me. Pray that this blog will be used by God as He intends, not as the “media experts” say it should.

If you want content, my blog roll on the side has numerous other reading sources that I personally like. Some of them may even flood your email box or RSS reader, if that’s how you like to read blogs.

Since the “experts” like to suggest “engaging” readers by asking a question, Consider †his closing question:

How would you deal with round holes and only square pegs?

The Capped Idol of Copeland-Hagin, Part 7: More on the Image of God

A thought occurred to me, as it has a tendency to do, that I hadn’t considered when I wrote my multi-part series on the Word of Faith — or, as I called it, the Word™ of Faith™ — movement. One of the foundational thoughts behind the idea that we “mere mortals” can harness the power that God allegedly harnessed when He “spoke the world into existence” is that Adam and Eve, and therefore every single one of their descendants (that includes you), resembles God.


In this article I want to examine a little better the first story of the first man & woman as told in Genesis 2:5-3:24.


Genesis 2:5-7 tells of the specific creation of Adam, the first man. While it does not say that Adam was created “in the image of God,” let’s assume that this is an extended version of the short story recorded in Genesis 1:26-28. That would indicate that Adam, and later Eve in Genesis 2:18-23, were created in God’s image.

The great struggle with that term “in the image of God” has always been the extent of that image. Does it mean that God is humanoid? Does it mean that God has 5 fingers on each of 2 hands, a single head, and so forth? More importantly, does it mean that Adam and Eve were replicas of God, with all the abilities He has? And what about their offspring?

Consider †his: no matter how much Adam, Eve, you, and I resemble God, we were never like God … not even before the first sin.
 
How can I say this? Let’s start with Genesis 2:16-17. God gave Adam his diet plan: every tree except one is available. That tells us two things: first, Adam ate, and second, Adam wasn’t allowed to eat from one specific tree.

So does that mean that God eats? Does that mean that God is not allowed to do certain things? That leads to an even more important question: is God subservient to someone or something else? Well, Charles Capps alleged that God used “the power of His [Faith™]” to create all this, as if God’s power wasn’t adequate. That, though, would result in circular reasoning, since Capps concluded that based on tons of misinterpretations of other Scriptures ripped from their context.

Genesis 2:18-24 brings forth a second trait of Adam: it wasn’t good that he be alone. But he wasn’t alone, for God walked with him. Still, God said that he needed a helper, and none of the animals filled that slot. Thus God created Woman, later named Eve, from one of Adam’s ribs. That leads us to know that Adam needed Eve.

So what about God? Many have speculated that He somehow “needs” mankind to love, since He is love (1 John 4:7-8). That’s stretching things a bit, though. After all, what did He do before He made us? He is I AM. He is eternal. He existed before anything was created. How did He fulfill this alleged “need” before He created Adam? Yes, the Bible refers to those who choose Him as their God as His “bride,” but the connection is still rather thin.

The biggest difference, though, comes in one of the saddest sections of the Bible: Genesis 3:1-7. The serpent tempts Eve by first trying to claim that God lied. Genesis 3:5, though, pegs it: he claims that Eve will be like God after she eats the fruit. How could this have been a temptation to someone “made in the image of God” if that truly meant that she was exactly like Him? Can God sin? (James 1:13 is just one of numerous answers to that question.)

In summary, Adam and Eve, before they sinned, if they were created “in the image of God,” were not identical to God in that:

• they had a command to follow;
• they needed someone other than God;
• they didn’t know the difference between good and evil;
• they could sin.

So, you tell me: does “made in the image of God” really mean that we are exactly like Him? Did it ever mean that?

You Are Not Alone!

One way that our great enemy, the devil, loves to try to get to us is to make us feel alone and isolated. After all, he schemes, if man cannot connect with you, certainly a superhuman God cannot understand what you’re going through. Never mind what you’re going through is common (a bit of generalization of 1 Corinthians 10:13). Never mind that God With Us and in us knows what we’re going through.

No matter what you’re going through, you are not alone!

That’s the premise for a book being released this week from Civitas Press, called Not Alone: Stories of Living with Depression. You can get it on Amazon right now. The book is unique in that it brings together a variety of different stories from a variety of different people on the topic of depression. What is it like to go through depression? What’s it like to come out of depression? Why do some people feel depressed even when they try to “think positive?”

I’m part of a “blog festival” promoting the book. I don’t get any “kickback” from this other than a link from the editor’s blog. I’m also a contributor to the book.

Allow me to share with you some snippets from my contribution to the book:

For all we know about it today, depression remains stigmatized by society, especially the one place where safety should be found: the church. So many people don’t realize that depression may very well be “just in your head,” but that it’s a real medical condition, at least for some of us.

I’ve been diagnosed with, and treated for, a serotonin imbalance. This means, in essence, that much of my depression & anxiety is outside of my mental control. I can’t “think it away” with “positive thoughts” or excitement. In fact, “excitement” can often trigger panic & anxiety attacks, which are related. The beginning of my recovery might be disappointing for some hoping for a “miracle.” I went on an antidepressant and a tranquilizer, taken as needed, for those times when I get out of control. That may seem boring, even undesirable to some, but for me it was a miracle.

The medications remove one of the barriers to my healing: whatever glandular defects are involved that inhibit either the production or proper usage of serotonin. Yes, that’s how I treat the physiological part of my depression, as a physical defect. No, that doesn’t mean God made a mistake, any more than He did when someone is born without arms or legs, or with Type 1 diabetes. I look at the medications as a Type 1 diabetic looks at insulin: it’s “medically necessary” for my survival.

The psychological part of it has been a different story. No, you really can’t tell what aspects of your depression are purely from the serotonin issues and what aspects are psychological results of the physical. I’m no psychiatrist or psychologist, but I haven’t been able to distinguish between the two. Both feed on each other. Hurt compounds on hurt, anxiety upon anxiety, excuse for depression upon excuse.

You read that correctly. I called it an “excuse.” In Christ there really is no excuse for depression outside of the physical. That’s not saying recovery is easy, especially if you’ve dealt with the physical issues for years before getting treatment. It took over 30 years for me to be diagnosed officially with depression, but it was the same moment that I learned of the physical side of it. As the physical side is overcome, it’s time to start believing the promises found in God’s Word, such as there being no condemnation in Christ (Romans 8:1) or that nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:31-39 … I suggest The Living Bible, if you can find it, for this particular passage).

For the rest of my story, and for stories from several others, go get the book.

Still, Consider †his: God still extends grace and mercy no matter what “excuse” we have for what we do.

I have issues with depression, panic, and anxiety, stress and worry, and many other things that are essentially out of my control … I don’t know how to deal with them or make them stop. I can listen to the “God cannot stand sin” people and believe that I have no hope … or I can listen to the God of the Bible and know that He still loves me. That doesn’t always help the body chemistry going whacko, but it keeps me alive.

The Capped Idol of Copeland-Hagin, Part 6: The Word of Faith vs. The Word of God!

As always, allow me to provide links to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5 of the series so far.

In this post, I want to deal once and for all with the Word™ of Faith™ heresy. I've described so far how this group believes that the spoken word, whether it be a Biblical quotation or something based on it, uttered in what they consider to be faith, activates a creative power in each of us, since we are all made in the image of God.

Previous articles in this series have dealt with these beliefs, and how they compare to what the Bible actually says in context. The final issue to address here is in the power of the spoken word. This idea that the words must be spoken to be effective is unusual, to say the least. It has always made me wonder about the mute, the person with a tracheotomy stoma before technology allowed him to speak again, or even the person with laryngitis. Then again, I suppose those people just didn't have enough Faith™ to speak against their illnesses and disabilities while they still could.

Yeah, that sounds like a merciful and grace-filled God.

Not.

The Bible does speak of the importance of communicating the gospel to everybody. It takes courage to say out loud that you believe that Jesus Christ is Lord (or LORD, to use the term some translations use to represent the actual name of God), especially in areas that are hostile to any belief system other than the "official" one … areas such as the United States, steeped as it is in the belief of naturalistic "science" and "tolerance" of anything except Christ. (Of course, we are hardly persecuted compared to other parts of the world … at least as of this writing.)

There's nothing significant that I can see, though, about the actual sounds emitted from our throats. If it were, I'd have to wonder if we were using the correct language, or if Faith™ is intelligent enough to speak whatever language we speak.

I have to agree with what some writers claim. Consider †his: the practice of speaking certain words out loud to summon powers outside of ourselves comes not from Scripture, but from the occult! To think that "confessing" Bible verses mandates that God or Faith™ must act upon them is significantly closer to the idea of the mystical incantation, the "open sesame" for the magic door or the "abra cadabra" that enables genie-like forces to work.

Naturally the practitioners of the spoken confession know better than to "confess" that their practices so closely resemble witchcraft. Even they know that they cannot admit to that without somebody seeing through their ruse. Instead, they insist that their way is the way, and threaten those who would come against them or their teaching.

The problem is that, one day, they will see another word, the Word of God made flesh (John 1:1-10) who promised no genie to come on command, but Who will one day judge these people for turning their backs on Him and His spoken words, choosing instead the lying angel that Kenneth Copeland claims to hear from. (I still say that could be true, as long as we recognize that a third of the angels chose to go with the devil in rebellion against God.)

Consider †his: our salvation is not in the spoken Word™ of Faith™ that makes promises it cannot keep, then blames our failure of Faith™ to cover up its own lie. Our salvation is in the Almighty Word of God, Jesus Christ! In Him we can do all things (Philippians 4:10-13). He is before all things, and in Him — not our Faith™ —all things hold together (Colossians 1:17)! The substance of worship belongs to Christ; let no one disqualify you, insisting on … worship of angels, going on in details … and not holding fast to the Head, which is Christ! (Colossians 2:8-23)

Let's be honest, though. Don't we all from time to time use a pre-written "prayer," rather than talk with God using our own words? Don't we all from time to time quote a verse out of context, or utter the phrase "in the name of Jesus," as if it brought about some sort of power? I still find myself stumbling down that path. Is that any less of an "incantation?" Perhaps if it reminds us of Whose we are … but, no, I have to be honest with myself here. I fall into that same trap.

As I researched for this specific post, I came across several links to other sites that have more to say on the subject. Rather than plagiarize from them, allow me to close with links to them. Then, in true faith in Christ, pray and repent of any connection to the occult you may inadvertently have caused by believing in "positive confession" or the Word™ of Faith™.

I know I will.

The links are:

• The WORD on the Word of Faith (blog)
• "Word Faith teaching - A spiritual copy of Mind Sciences" (via Let Us Reason)
• "Word Of Faith Movement" page on Deception in the Church
• "Positive Confession" on The Watchman Expositor (not affiliated with the Jehovah's Witnesses, as far as I know)

For Part 7, click here.