Examining all things…

We as followers of Christ have been instructed to examine all things and hold to what is good (1thess.5:21). I would guess that is because many things have the appearance of being something valuable but in fact are worthless. Another reason is that something useful today might become worse than useless tomorrow. This is particularly true with spiritual things. Take for example the snake on a pole used by Moses to heal all those Israelites bitten by snakes on their pilgrimage in the desert (Numbers 21:4-10). You know the story….God’s people get discouraged, started complaining (again) against God and the man God gave to lead them, so God sends them a lesson on complaining in the form of some terrible snakes. When they repented and asked Moses to pray for them the Lord spoke to Moses to make a brass snake and stick it on a pole. All who then would look upon this snake would be healed and not die. This is another example of the mercy of our Great King. This act of grace would foreshadow and become identified with Christ becoming our sin and dying on a cross (John 3:14,15). How revered this snake on a pole must have become. How the natural thing to do was to keep the snake on a pole polished and always remember the good things that came from it. You might even say it needed to become something we could use in our worship service and give it a special name….and that is exactly what the Israelites did …until the righteous man Hezekiah examined this thinking and consequently smashed it to bits (2 Kings 18: 1-4). What once had been mightily used by God to heal his people had slowly become just one more idol. It is said of Hezekiah that he trusted the Lord, held fast to the Lord, kept His commandments and would not depart from Him (2 Kings 18: 5-7). I also believe he was constantly examining everything and held on only to what was good not traditionally accepted. By Hezekiah’s time that snake on a pole had been around for a long time and many people thought that offering it incense and giving it a special name was the thing to do. Not Hezekiah. He had to examine everything…..because he always wanted God’s heart and knew there is no such thing as offering righteous snakes incense even if they had been once used by God.

If ever there were a need of the spirit of Hezekiah it is now. The 21rst century version of the “American Church” is filled from top to bottom with “righteous snakes being offered incense”. And I am not talking about the idolatry of the Catholic church or the Sorcery of the Charismatic Church. I am talking about the lifestyles of evangelical protestant Christianity. Is there anybody (that has looked at what Christ taught) who will not admit that the American Dream contends with the Faith once delivered to the Saints? Would anyone like to consider the effectiveness of “Christianity as Usual” while examining the statistics of moral living between 21rst century conservative Americans who don’t believe and Christians who say they do? Why is it that most Christians are quick to say the answer to the terrible similarities of depravity between Christians and non Christians is …read the bible more, pray more, witness more and attend church more. Those answers have not brought any reasonable relief to the divorce rate, suicide rate, teen pregnancy rate, or in general sloppy moral living among believers. Is the American church, as most people know it, worth keeping? Great Mega Churches boast great attendance, while the smaller ones look on and drool, yet is this really because of the actual spiritual deliverance (Salvation) from the defilement’s of the world it offers or the ever growing list of programs, baseball teams, bowling allies, swimming pools, and ” electric church” services, with the latest music freshly Christianized from their worldly piers by aspiring “christian” musicians? Would people still come if all the “kudos” were removed? Would anybody still be standing around if it were made know that their church was going to head in the direction of having all things in common, sharing all possessions, selling all extra lands, houses to take care of the poor among them? What if next Sunday a movement began to lay all things down at the feet of the church leaders so that they could distribute them to any who had needs? What would you do if you were told that you shouldn’t purchase that new car you wanted because of the bad example it would set of going into excessive debt…what would be your response? If those who call themselves the people of God want to make any substantial difference in this country they will have to rid themselves of the incense offered to their righteous snakes. We cannot live like everyone around us and expect the world to pay attention. Christ didn’t, the Apostles didn’t, the early church didn’t and we mustn’t either. Something vastly different is needed. Our idolizing of family, traditions, customs and that ole time religion will have to go. It may have been good enough for MaMa but is painfully inadequate for such a time as this.

RCV Grandfather

Extra ….Extra …read all about it!

I just returned from a wonderful trip to Myanmar. We visited quite a few orphanages to determine which ones we could support and played with many delightful children. I was blessed with meeting some of the most devoted followers of Christ I have ever met. One such man was a brother by the name of Mang Al. Mang Al was one of the translators that traveled with us to help us communicate at the Orphanages. He was a quiet man of God that had quite a history of adventures with God. During our return trip to the airport I had a chance to tell him what our Father was doing with us in Tennessee. I spoke of the grace that had been poured out on a Village of 300 people to live out the same kind of life that is recorded in the first four chapters of the book of Acts. His reaction was a mixture of amazement and something akin to anger. When I finished he looked at me rather perplexed and said…..” Why hasn’t your country told us of this Life? Many of our people have died without knowing that such a Life could be lived. Why has your country not spoken to us about this before now?” Somewhat taken back by the question I really didn’t know how to answer him. I then said … “I guess the people of my country don’t care about this way of Life because they are content with their own lifestyle. He just stared at me dumfounded and finally said… “I do not understand …..This Life you describe is the most wonderful thing I have ever heard. Can you come back and teach us how to live this Life?” I guess (Lord willing) we will be going back to Myanmar next year for a longer stay. I have often wondered myself why there are not more people in our country inquiring about this incredible Life that we get to live day in and day out. What would happen if a description of this Life appeared in the newspaper …and how in the world, (no pun intended) would they begin to describe it?

EXTRA, EXTRA … read all about it …Life from heaven falls on 300 people in the western hills of Tennessee! Reports are coming in from all the surrounding areas that this event has radically changed the lives and lifestyles of those involved. Some concerned citizens in nearby towns have given eyewitness accounts of these people giving up all their possessions and all they’ve worked for their entire life to share with each other. Others give strange reports of these same people stating that their lives no longer consist of their possessions but have all things together. It has also come to attention of this newspaper that they have formed business’s that are unlike any business’s ever seen in this area. The men who work for these business’s have voluntarily capped their pay so the profits of the companies can go to supporting 20 or so single mothers and widows, 65 orphans in 2 different countries, and the support of a “church family” in Kenya Africa. All the men working for these companies ( at least 50 or more) have established such a testimony in their work that wherever they go people invent more work just so they can stay longer. One of the wealthier residents of our city, after hearing them singing while they worked, was so moved by their hearts, that he asked them to go through his house and ask God’s blessing on it. This reporter has not once heard of their men ever cussing, fighting or being other than gentle and polite to people they have worked for and all other workers present.

Perhaps the most amazing change, since the strange invasion of Heavens Culture among these people, is the effect it has had upon their children. There must be something going on we cannot observe. They completely defy the statistics of the rest of the American youth. Out of 150 young people there is no drug use, no premarital sex, no gangs, no suicide, no crime, and a peer pressure that any parents would love to see there children totally covered up with. Their schooling is completely filled with the teachings of the Christ taught by folks totally devoted to demonstrating His Love. The children’s creativity has exploded with the formation of a 60 person Irish dance troupe, 2 Irish bands, a drum core, festivals, newspapers, drama clubs, etc. , etc.. It is a common sight in the Village to see groups of youth talking and praying with each other. It us is reported that last week 6 of their young people grew tired of their exclusive friendship and proceeded to (in front of the whole Village) wash all their feet of their peers with tears of repentance.

Another fascinating feature of this unique Life from above is there insistence on walking in unity and Love. They have begun saying something to the effect that their Master’s credibility rest with their togetherness. They don’t just talk about loving one another, they walk it out every day in a visible “taking care of each other” way. They live together, eat together, work together, laugh together, cry together and claim that it is both good and pleasant. Now it is of the opinion of this newspaper that the mental disorder which has come from thinking about God to much can be healed if they would just pursue the American dream for a while. Christians everywhere should pray for their deliverance so they can experience the beauty of independence and the joy of knowing that no matter what you did it your way.

Well although the above “newspaper article” is fictitious the facts about the life we are currently living is not and leave me still wondering ….why if even if there was even a remote possibility of these things being true, do people not check it out. Once in Boston I began to describe our life to a woman who said “That sounds like heaven”…to which I replied, no just the Kingdom of Heaven. Many reading this would say …if these things were true of course we would check it out…but how do we know that what you’re saying is true? You don’t…. so then the first question is not whether or not this is really true …. but rather what are you willing to do to find out?

….Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and its righteousness…..for I came that the life you live would be extraordinary.

RCV Grandfather

Why Not Leave Christianity and Follow Christ?

Is there any reason to believe that most of twenty first century Christianity is in any way what its founder intended? If the scriptures are (supposed to be) the rule of faith and practice why doesn’t anybody see that what is currently being practiced as Christianity bears little or no resemblance to the original precedent set by the original followers of Christ?

If I were from the planet Mars and didn’t have any contemporary knowledge of what a church looked like, could I find one by just reading the scriptures? I wonder.

There would be no mention of them owning an expensive building. Therefore no sign out front to tell others where to come. No little sign with some tacky saying to make them think of God. No bulletins handed out at the door to tell them what to do in the building they didn’t have. In fact there would be no visiting the church of your choice, because the choice was made by where you lived and not which teacher you liked best. You would never be instructed to be quiet and listen to someone “preach” every Sunday because everyone was expected to contribute what he had been given that week. There would be no showing off of your new clothes because most folks there would be poor and didn’t have that option. The few of the more well off didn’t go to investment classes so they could be “good stewards” of their riches, they usually just foolishly gave it to the leaders so they could take care of those poor folks. They wouldn’t hear great expository teaching on how many angels could sit on the head of a pin or what the latest theory on the timing of the rapture because back then they (mistakenly?) thought sound doctrine was about practicing the faith not debating it. It is likely they never heard a “sermon” on hellfire for sinners because not one is recorded as being preached after Christ’s brief mentioning of it in the gospels.

In fact the four “spiritual” laws were never mentioned in one of the messages delivered to pagans by the people of the scriptures, just a revealing the Christ and believing in Him, not things about Him.

People who did believe in Him were taught that getting along would be the best way other people could really tell that they followed Him. Not T-shirts, bumper stickers on their chariots, little execution stakes hanging around their necks (even if they were 24 carat gold), or gold fishes on their tunics, hats, golf shirts,etc., etc.

You may ask, “What is your point?” The point is simple: if it doesn’t smell like an apple, doesn’t taste like an apple, and it doesn’t even look like an apple, well, it probably isn’t.

Maybe it’s time to leave Christianity and follow Christ.

RCVGrandfather