In response to the coming evangelical collapse:

To say that there is a coming collapse is really nothing more than coming out of denial (“a false system of beliefs that are not based on reality” and “a self-protecting behavior that keeps us from honestly facing the truth.” -Celebrate Recovery). It is not providing a new insight, but only a willingness to now deal with the reality of the situation. Others have seen this and tried to provide counsel and correction but we were enablers in an addicted relationship and we couldn't get out and now that it is ending we are finally making up our minds, breaking up our will and taking up our cross to come into a new place.

This cry for a Reformation has been heard in evangelical circles for 3 decades. For those not familiar with the Chicago Call (1977) I would recommend this site http://www.growcenter.org/documents/TheChicagoCall.pdf

Remember every 500 years there has been a monumental shift in the face of the church (Creeds, Councils, Canons, then East and West split 1054, then Reformation 1517, and now a Post Modern _____…200?) we have already crossed into the time line of the next 500 years so let us hasten the day…we have a resurrection to attend!

And no I am not talking about the resurrection of the dead, but the resurrection and life...of Christ and his kingdom coming in us, through us and as us to the world all around us. This is our day, this is our time, this is what we have been waiting, living, breathing and preparing for...thank God we have been born out of due time.

Or as Thomas Oden wrote in “After Modernity What?” (1990) “The image of a moving pendulum may help grasp the way in which the Christian community is constantly seeking an equilibrium of tradition and renewal. Since it swings through lengthy historical epochs, where a single stroke might take half a century, its motion is imperceptible. A pendulum is only useful when it is in motion, working with tension filled polarities. The best trained for modernity are least prepared for the consequences of modernity. The reversal of the pendulum’s direction today is best understood both as a gift to be received and a task to be accomplished.”

The Voice of One Crying...

I am glad to see that at least a few people are finally understanding the Bible and are beginning to realize that America is not the nation of God, but only one nation under God and that all nations are under God. America is not to be compared to the nation of Israel, but that the Church is the NT equivalent to the OT nation of Israel, and that America is just a part of the corrupt Babylonian system. The church is a nation that transcends all the nations of the world.

Furthermore, that Israel is a fine, independent sovereign nation and that they have rights as any other nation would, but that the physical nation of Israel is no longer a part of the focus of the NT Scriptures.

Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.

NOTE: Christ is the seed of Israel, come to full fruition and His resurrection from the dead was the hope of Israel and why Paul stood trial in Jerusalem and in Rome.

Gal 4:28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. 29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.

NOTE: The children of promise are those who placed faith in Christ and they/we/I am a child born of the Spirit and the natural children "Israel" were then persecuting Paul and the Gentiles who were coming to faith. In fact the persecution of the book of Acts is predominantly being performed by the Jews.

Romans 2:28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

NOTE: The blood of Abraham in the heart does not make one a Jew, it is the faith of Abraham in the heart that determines being a part of the Israel of God. Furthermore, Abraham was not Jewish, he was from Iraq...he was originally a Babylonian worshiper of false gods. There was not an Israel until Jacob's heart and life were changed by God and he became known as Israel, and there were not any Jews until after Jacob's son Judah was born because that is where the name comes from because of the promises made to the tribe of Judah (Jews).

I am amazed at how many Chrisitians in America are Americanized by their sense of nationalism instead of reading the Bible through baptism and covenant.

Some would say that my statements are anti-Semitic. I am not anti-semitic (Semetic comes from Noah's son Shem). So to be truly anti-semetic means that you not only against Jews, but that you are against all the people of the Middle East and their descent from Shem. I am not against any ethic group, I am for all of them coming to Christ. However, I do feel as though most American Christians are anti-Christ, which doesn't mean that they are against Christ, but that they set other things along side of or equal to...they don't consciously do so, but becasue they they have been more indoctrinated by America and Israel than actual NT teaching they by default lower the view of Christ and the Church and exalt by speech and conduct their allegiance to Israel and America in front of their allegiance to the Kingdom of God. It isn't deliberate, they really can't help it because they have been taught that America and Israel are what God is concerned about, but my contention is that they will not be able to defend that from the teachings of the NT.

I also know that unless the Father reveals this to you that you cannot see the Kingdom of God. I am thankful for that revelation in 1986 and the ongoing teaching of these truths through the early 90's. It is the metanarrative...the big story and is more than OBVIOUS and PLAIN once you see it, but until then you will be mad as a hornet at me for my commentary and interpretation. Believe me I have met many people whose eyes were opened and now it is like that is all they can see, and can't believe they couldn't see it before because it is so obvious.

Romans 9:6 For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, “In Isaac your seed shall be called.” 8 That is, those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted as the seed.

NOTE: You have to be aware that there is a remnant. The seed is again stated to be found in the son of promise, and obviously not all children are the children of the promise. The promise is in the One Son/Seed and unless you come to Him, then you are not the children of Abraham (Gal 3-4).

Therefore God gave the promise of the Seed to come through the woman and that seed became a might army of people the nation of Israel. However within that company of people resided the son of promise, the ultimate Seed, so that when God calls Israel out of Egypt, he is also calling His Son out of Egypt because the Son was implanted in the nation (Heb 7 thinking covenantally and generationally), but would not be manifested for centuries. But then when the ultimate fulfillment of the promise is given the NT writers recall that out of Egypt I have called my Son/firstborn.

The reason that the nation had to come out was so that the Messiah could eventually come out. But now that He has come...the seed has grown into the flower, we no longer marvel at the seed/bulb. Mary becomes the ultimate Woman who gives birth to the Seed. Americanized Christians are no different than Romanized Catholics. They pay homage to a woman (Mary) who gave birth to the Son of God, but Americanized Christians still give homage to a nation (Israel) that gave birth to the Son of God. What is the difference? There isn't one. Mary is an Israelite giving birth to Jesus, well then let us worship Him alone and realize that in giving Him birth they and she have fulfilled their long awaited role and now that He has come, they would do well to give complete honor, loyalty and allegiance to Him and what He gave birth to in his death and resurrection...the Church, the Bride, the wife of the Lamb. Israel, like Mary must come to the cross and see that he now begins a new nation of both Jews and Gentiles (nations) in Himself.

God's plan was God, so once He has arrived (Jesus is God) everything else is put away and now in Him is built a new family, tribe, nation, people made up of Jews and Nations, but that through baptism they lay down nationalism and become citizens of a holy nation, royal priesthood, chosen generation...the Church, the one thing Jesus came to build...a house of prayer for ALL nations.

It is amazing to me the number of leaders and teachers in the Church today that talk/preach today as if they have never read the NT. They interpret everything by God in America, and the nation of Israel. They treat the very thing that God gave them access to...the Church as an addendum to the plans of God and that America is greater, and stronger than the Church. America doesn't have a leg to stand on if the Candlestick-which is the Church goes out (Rev 3 the letter to Ephesus).

America is not the Church or even a Christian nation. It is a nation (Babylon), but within her is the nation of God, as it is in all the nations of the world...His Kingdom.

REBUKED

Luke 4:33-35 a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon and he cried out with a loud voice let us alone!

When people cry the loudest to be left alone, don't want to change, resist counsel, refuse to grow up...then you might want to look to see if an unclean spirit has them in bondage.
v35 but Jesus rebuked him.
I am all for grace, love and long suffering but sometimes an authoritative rebuke is required. The demon does not want it and the person can't do it.

Moleskine Musings

We are more sinful and flawed than we ever dared believe and we are more accepted and loved than we ever dared hope.

Be kind for everyone we encounter is facing a great trial. -Jewish Philosopher

A paradox is not a problem to be solved but a mystery to be honored.

Any man who is to big to follow is to small to lead.

Sex is the battlefield of spiritual warfare in marriage.

In intercession we tell God what he wants us to tell him. It is so simple that anyone can do it, yet so simple that most do not. -Mike Bickle

Sunday Worship is the echo of Easter morning.

Why be a Christian? Because I want Truth and I need Grace. -PBZ

To love myself, I must love someone else.

There is more life in front o f you than there is behind you.

Journaling catches the winds of God's voice as it passes by you.

We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen. -Hyatt Hotels

Don't bring me problems, bring me solutions.

What makes a great Christian? A life of sacrifice.

A sacrament is a sacred command.

Signs and Symbols: Place something before your eyes to help remind your heart.

Strength of faith is developed in "God's absence."

Miracles punctuate our life, not dominant it.

Character is more important than gifts.

Don't let your personality carry you to place that your character cannot keep you.

Sometimes we encounter a demon that we are destined to dispossess.

Demons don't like to be hugged.

Changing Lives, Transforming the Community and Renewing the Church. -COR

God doesn't give us certainty, he gives us mystery. -Rev. Adam Hamilton

Building down takes longer than building up.

You can't pour in the oil and the wine unless someone is cut open by a wound or needs to be cut open.

REAListic PRAYER

Praying with Your Eyes Wide Open

Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to change we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic of our lives. Real prayer is something that we learn (Luke11:1).

Dallas Willard says that prayer will not flourish in our lives if we are not practicing the disciplines of solitude and fasting.

The most often talked about and most neglected discipline of the Christian life. We perpetually feel bad about our lack of time spent in prayer. I think I have a few thoughts today that will help you think differently about a part of your prayer life.

Ephesians 6:14 all manners of prayer
There are a few simple tools to help you begin to be more comfortable with praying.
· First, is read more of the Bible, especially the New Testament, because it reveals the heart of God and the more you know the heart of the Father then you will feel more confident about what you express in prayer. Pray in the Spirit.
· Secondly read the Psalms, they are the written and inspired prayers of David and they encompasses the full spectrum of human emotion. They help give us faith to learn how to express ourselves in the face of anything we may encounter.
· Third, recognize that prayer is the times when you are most real, honest and share your heart with God alone, or with a friend, and to acknowledge that God hears you during those times when you unveil your deepest hearts fears, hopes, etc..

In Him I live and move and have my being…
Have you ever met with another trusted and faithful Christian (mom or dad, friend, brother or sister in a late night talk) and been able to release/speak about, pour out your deepest hurts, fears, dreams, desires? In those moments you were probably the most alive, in touch, real, transparent and authentic. You opened up the window of your soul through the words you spoke. What does that have to do with prayer? Nothing…I would dare to suggest that is prayer.

How many of you are Americans? So then, even if you eat Chinese food for lunch you are still American. You cannot help it. In the same way you are Christian, it is your new nature/nationality. You are born again into a living relationship with the triune God. So that whether you live, or move or have your being it is done from the place and posture of being in and with Christ. He hears you…all the time. So then I would suggest that your prayer life has just changed dramatically. You might have just discovered that you are actually praying more than you thought you were. Rejoice!

God actually hears your heart, words, and thoughts even if your "head is not bowed, eyes closed, hands folded, on your knees….in Jesus name." We say we are not religious and yet it may be our prayer life that is a dead give away to our being stuffed with religion. Yes, there are times when we resort to a time away, in secret, to be with Father but just as important; is your daily life, words, actions, and thoughts. It is not just a religious exercise, it is the release of heart, mind, will, desire, and emotion naturally...how else does a Christian really pray without ceasing?

Shhhh...take time to LISTEN...and you will discover that you are LOVED

“Prayer is not talking, but listening” - Kierkegaard

Real prayer is actually more concerned with listening than talking. So really when we feel bad about not praying enough it should be because we are not listening, not that we are not talking.

"I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I'm going to learn, I must do it by listening." - Larry King

Being listened to is so close to being loved that most people cannot tell the difference. - David Oxberg

Think about prayer, what makes it so meaningful, is not that we get to talk but that we believe that He hears us…someone is listening. You have to be a great listener to be a great prayer. So then when it is God’s turn to talk we need to be listening, which is mainly where the revelation of the will and answers of God are going to come from. The rest of his goodness and mercy to us will be played out or displayed as we go about naturally living our lives under the ever pervasive reality that I am Christian. So much so that even if I take a nap it is a Christian nap, how could it be otherwise. My new nature, reality, nationality, existence is “in Christ”.

This is the genius of the Psalms. It is real live dialogue. It is not a rehearsal. It is live and…it is a candid camera moment. The language of the Psalms is from the heart, meaning it is real, raw, and relational.

My Utmost for His Highest (January 30)

Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision —1 Samuel 3:15

God never speaks to us in dramatic ways, but in ways that are easy to misunderstand. Then we say, "I wonder if that is God’s voice?" Isaiah said that the Lord spoke to him "with a strong hand," that is, by the pressure of his circumstances (Isaiah 8:11). Without the sovereign hand of God Himself, nothing touches our lives. Do we discern His hand at work, or do we see things as mere occurrences?

Get into the habit of saying, "Speak, Lord," and life will become a romance (1 Samuel 3:9). Every time circumstances press in on you, say, "Speak, Lord," and make time to listen. Chastening is more than a means of discipline— it is meant to bring me to the point of saying, "Speak, Lord." Think back to a time when God spoke to you. Do you remember what He said? Was it Luke 11:13 , or was it 1 Thessalonians 5:23? As we listen, our ears become more sensitive, and like Jesus, we will hear God all the time.

Should I tell my "Eli" what God has shown to me? This is where the dilemma of obedience hits us. We disobey God by becoming amateur providences and thinking, "I must shield ’Eli,’ " who represents the best people we know. God did not tell Samuel to tell Eli— he had to decide that for himself. God’s message to you may hurt your "Eli," but trying to prevent suffering in another’s life will prove to be an obstruction between your soul and God. It is at your own risk that you prevent someone’s right hand being cut off or right eye being plucked out (see Matthew 5:29-30 ).

Never ask another person’s advice about anything God makes you decide before Him. If you ask advice, you will almost always side with Satan. ". . . I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood . . ." (Galatians 1:16 ).

Sexual Purity

This question came to me yesterday and I responded to the individual but I also recognize that many men, young and old, struggle with it so I thought I'll post it.

Q: I've been studying on sexual purity and what it means to have a Godly sex life (being that I'll be married in a few months). One question remains a puzzle to me. I do not mastubate because I've always thought it to be a sin and now I question my reasons why. I can't find a scripture to support my beliefs. Do you guys believe mastubation to be a sin, or is it one of those "it depends" kind of deals.

A: Your conscience is a part of the moral guidance system that God created in us. So your thought, as you called it, is in this case being an advocate to help provide you with moral direction. You probably cannot find Scripture to support your conviction, but the Bible does not seek to answer every question that we might have. What the Bible does provide us with is truth and principles of wisdom to guide us as sons and daughters.

Jesus said not to look upon a woman with lust, so then the act of adultery, in what he is referring to, is not primarily an outward act, but a matter of the heart. The outward act is of course sin and brings with it potential physical consequences. But if we are not diligent in matters of the heart (guarding and keeping it pure) then what usually happens is that we willfully commit some type of immoral act and try to correct the act. The act was simply the outward result of an inward deviation from my conscience, moral absolutes from God’s truth (biblical and natural). What God requires is that we examine our hearts in light of His truth and our relationship with Him and others (love God and love neighbors) so that we can confess our sins.

The same is true for masturbation. It is not the external act that is the primary culprit to conscience. It is the thoughts and intentions of your heart. Can a man take fire in his chest and not be burned? No. Can a man masturbate with his body and not lust in his heart? No. So the sin, if there is one is not in the act, but in the thought.

Furthermore, marriage is not a safe guard from masturbation. If we are not careful the act of sexual intercourse could become at times, nothing more than an act of masturbation with my wife. It usually isn’t, but our wives our not objects and we have to ensure that we are not “loving” ourselves by using them for our selfish motives. Just wanting to be sure that you stay sexually pure with your wife and after you are married.

Head and Heart

The sense of being part of some bigger story, a purposeful adventure that is the Christian life, begins to drain away again after those first-love years in spite of everything we can do to stop it. Instead of a love affair with God, your life begins to feel more like a series of repetitive behaviors, like reading the same chapter of a book or writing the same novel over and over. The orthodoxy we try to live out, defined as “Believe and Behave Accordingly,” is not a sufficient story line to satisfy whatever turmoil and longing our heart is trying to tell us about. Somehow our head and heart are on separate journeys and neither feels like life.

Eventually this division of head and heart culminates in one of two directions. We can either deaden our heart or divide our life into two parts, where our outer story becomes the theater of the should and our inner story the theater of needs, the place where we quench the thirst of our heart with whatever water is available. I chose the second route, living what I thought of as my religious life with increasing dryness and cynicism while I found “water” where I could: in sexual fantasies, alcohol, the next dinner out, late-night violence videos, gaining more knowledge through religious seminars—whatever would slake the thirsty restlessness inside. Whichever path we choose—heart deadness or heart and head separation—the wounds, the Arrows win, and we lose heart.

This is the story of all our lives, in one way or another. The haunting of the Romance and the Message of the Arrows are so radically different and they seem so mutually exclusive they split our hearts in two. In every way that the Romance is full of beauty and wonder, the Arrows are equally powerful in their ugliness and devastation. (The Sacred Romance , 30–31 by John Eldredge)

2008

Life in the Spirit

There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. 12 Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this man. Daniel 5:11-12

This verse has been reoccuring in my thoughts for the past few weeks. I feel like my journey for 2008 is to deepen and develop my ability to live from my spirit.

Some of my initial thoughts for development are:
Praying in tongues more, Charisms, Fasting, Renovation of the Heart by Willard, Release of the Spirit by Nee, Song of Solomon and Revelation, Examining the idea of Jesus' human spirit.

I am open to further insights for spiritual development...

I am looking for more than a reformation or transformation but a TRANSFIGURATION.

The Chicago Call continued...

A Call to

Sacramental Integrity

We decry the poverty of sacramental understanding among evangelicals. This is largely due to the loss of our continuity with the teaching of many of the Fathers and Reformers and results in the deterioration of sacramental life in our churches. Also, the failure to appreciate the sacramental nature of God’s activity in the world often leads us to disregard the sacredness of daily living.

Therefore we call evangelicals to awake to the sacramental implications of creation and incarnation. For in these doctrines the historic church has affirmed that God’s activity is manifested in a material way. We need to recognize that the grace of God is mediated through faith by the operation of the Holy Spirit in a notable way in the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Here the church proclaims, celebrates and participates in the death and resurrection of Christ in such a way as to nourish her members throughout their lives in anticipation of the consummation of the kingdom. Also, we should remember our biblical designations as “living epistles,” for here the sacramental character of the Christian’s daily life is expressed.

A Call to Spirituality

We suffer from a neglect of authentic spirituality on the one hand, and an excess of undisciplined spirituality on the other hand. We have too often pursued a superhuman religiosity rather than the biblical model of a true humanity released from bondage to sin and renewed by the Holy Spirit.

Therefore we call for a spirituality which grasps by faith the full content of Christ’s redemptive work: freedom from the guilt and power of sin, and newness of life through the indwelling and outpouring of the Holy Spirit. We affirm the centrality of the preaching of the Word of God as a primary means by which his Spirit works to renew the church in its corporate life as well as in the individual lives of believers. A true spirituality will call for identification with the suffering of the world as well as the cultivation of personal piety.

We need to rediscover the devotional resources of the whole church, including the evangelical traditions of Pietism and Puritanism. We call for an exploration of devotional practice in all traditions within the church in order to deepen our relationship both with Christ and with other Christians. Among these resources are such spiritual disciplines as prayer, mediation, silence, fasting, Bible study and spiritual diaries.

A Call to Church Authority
We deplore our disobedience to the Lordship of Christ as expressed through authority in his church. This has promoted as spirit of autonomy in persons and groups resulting in isolationism and competitiveness, even anarchy, with in the Body of Christ. We regret that in the absence of godly authority, there have arisen legalistic, domineering leaders on the one hand and indifference to church discipline on the other.

Therefore we affirm that all Christians are to be in practical submission to one another and to designated leaders in a church under the Lordship of Christ. The church, as the people of God, is called to be the visible presence of Christ in the world. Every Christian is called to active priesthood in worship and service through exercising spiritual gifts and ministries. In the church we are in vital union both with Christ and with one another. This calls for community with deep involvement and mutual commitment of time, energy and possessions. Further, church discipline, biblically based and under the direction of the Holy Spirit, is essential to the well-being and ministry of God’s people. Moreover, we encourage all Christian organizations to conduct their activities with genuine accountability to the whole church.

A Call to Church Unity
We deplore the scandalous isolation and separation of Christians from one another. We believe such division is contrary to Christ’s explicit desire for unity among his people and impedes the witness of the church in the world. Evangelicalism is too frequently characterized by an a-historical, sectarian mentality. We fail to appropriate the catholicity of historic Christianity, as well as the breadth of the biblical revelation.

Therefore we call evangelicals to return to the ecumenical concern of the Reformers and the later movements of evangelical renewal. We must humbly and critically scrutinize our respective traditions, renounce sacred shibboleths, and recognize that God works within diverse historical streams. We must resist efforts promoting church union-at-any-cost, but we must also avoid mere spiritualized concepts of church unity. We are convinced that unity in Christ requires visible and concrete expressions. In this belief, we welcome the development of encounter and cooperation within Christ’s church. While we seek to avoid doctrinal indifferntism and a false irenicism, we encourage evangelicals to cultivate increased discussion and cooperation, both within and without their respective traditions, earnestly seeking common areas of agreement and understanding.