TO WHOM ELSE SHALL I GO?

I have been watching the erosion of Religion for sometime now.  Religion and people who practice their Religion are now seen as the enemies, not only of the world but now of the church..the man made church.  I see things like Church Without Religion or hear about gatherings of people who go out of their way not to appear Religious.  They claim to want to be relevant to people today and in their minds Religion isn’t.

I understand their motivation to be inviting and open to all people, but I have difficulties with the compromises that have been made to the foundations on which the Christian Faith was built.  “Unless the Lord builds the house they labor in vain who build it”.  There are good people involved in this progressive movement towards relevancy, but deception is a powerful force. 

There are many human elements in Religion that needed to be examined and eliminated.  But I am concerned that the baby has been thrown out with the bathwater.  When the very Source of Faith is compromised or eliminated the results will be futile, meaningless, and unsustainable.  The Pilates of our day find no fault in Jesus and yet they strip him, flog him, and crucify him.  He is removed from the I AM and now must be apart of the WE ARE, just one of many ways, not The Way to God.  That certainly makes him more popular to the crowds and more relevant to those who want to be associated with him on their own terms.  Their own terms are often out of sync with God’s words and Jesus’ teachings, aimed more at pleasure than sacrifice.

Jesus reached a point in his ministry that his teachings weren’t drawing crowds like they were.  Some of his followers were complaining about how hard his sayings were and taking offense at them and him.  He confronted them with the truth and many turned back and no longer walked with him.  There is no record of where they went but I suspect they went and found another teacher who tickled their ears and started their own thing somewhere else, much like today.  After they left Jesus turned to the twelve disciples that had been with him from the beginning and asked if they were leaving as well.  Peter spoke for all of them and simply said, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God” (John 6: 60-71).

Things didn’t get easier for these disciples; they got harder, much harder.  At times they floundered and failed but they, all but one, remained true to his words.  This is the Faith that I want my life built on.

It is hard to live an uncompromising life of faith in these times.  It feels lonely at times.  It may appear foolish to others at times.  The enemy still works his ways of doubt and temptation.  But in my heart of hearts I stand with Peter; to whom else shall I go?  I know in the core of my being that Jesus is exactly who he says he is.  I know in the core of my being that God is the Source of Everything.  I know in the core of my being that I only want to be in His Presence, now and forever.

THE MEANING OF EVERYTHING

IN THE BEGINNING GOD…

I AM WHO I AM…

I, THE LORD, THE FIRST, AND THE LAST, I AM HE…

I AM THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA,

THE FIRST AND THE LAST,

THE BEGINNING AND THE END…

“This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent”

John 6:29

What else is there?

To whom else shall I go?

He alone has the words of eternal life

He alone has the light to direct my path

He alone is the Source of all things

To whom else shall I go?

The Pilates of today

Who find no fault in Him but

Strip him, mock him, and crucify Him

With their words and their writings

They claim to be wise leaders of the faith

But they are fools leading others to oblivion.

There is no other

“This is My Son,

In whom I am well pleased”

He was in the beginning

He will be in the end

Forever and ever…AMEN.

PROMISE OF THE PRESENCE

“The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,

which shines brighter and brighter until full day.”

Proverbs 4:18

I have fond memories of my life at the beach.  In the morning I would walk down to the water and wait for the sunrise.  I loved sitting in the darkness of predawn and watching the dark clouds on night yield to the coming light of day.  The seagulls would begin to arise, calling to one another to gather together on the shore.  That would be the first sound that would fill my ears.  Then I would watch the darkness leave and the bright colors of red and yellow fill the sky.  Finally the red glow and then the tip of the sun would show itself.  Slowly the tip rose and the big ball of light would appear to rise on the horizon out of the sea.  As it rose higher its light would completely fill the sky and a beam from that light would make its way to where I was sitting.  Then the day would begin.

Every morning since the beginning of time this is how it has been.  Nothing can change it, stop it, add to it, or subtract from it.  It is God’s Promise to the world of His great and abundant faithfulness.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

His mercies never come to an end;

They are new every morning;

Great is His faithfulness.”

God reveals Himself everyday, bringing light to the darkness, revealing the Path I am to follow.  The more I watch and wait, the more I know and understand His Ways.  He has not put me here without a Promise of His Presence and He seals that Promise with every Sunrise.

Someday there will be no need of the sun.  Someday the Promise will be fulfilled.  The light of the world will only rise once and the glory of God will shine forth forever.  The light of the Lamb of God will be all we need, that we might walk in the way of righteousness forever.

MARANATHA

COME LORD JESUS, COME

WHAT IS THAT TO YOU? YOU FOLLOW ME.

The world today is inundated with issues.  These issues scream out for attention over the air waves that fill the space all around me.  It is easy to get consumed by them feeling that they require me to engage with their demands whether they have any affect on my life or not.  They provide a fertile ground for the growth of opinions and then engaging in the war of human devising, of label against label; conservative against liberal, red against blue, progressive against traditionalist, religious against secular, and so on.  We have become experts in creating enemies to fight our battles with but failures in creating solutions to the issues that present themselves and require attention and action.  Hence, nothing gets done to solve the problems that are the roots of the issues…and the band played on.

It used to be cleared.  The battle was between good and evil; the good guys and the bad guys.  But a choice was made to eliminate the God’s input in the world along with concept of evil, making everything good and acceptable.  So now the battle is the rights of individuals to do what they each want to do and be who they want to be with no rule or standard.  That would work if one lives alone on a deserted island, but we don’t.  We are required to live together, sometimes very close to each other so it requires a sense of comradeship and understanding of one another.  That doesn’t happen when everyone is yelling at each other, hating each other, and bullying each other.

In the beginning Adam and Eve had the opportunity to eat from the tree of life which would have resulted in their living (and we living) in a state of Paradise forever.  They choose to listen to the Enemy, disobey God, and do their own thing, causing the rest of humanity to live in a world of unintended consequences.  Those consequences are living in a world where good and evil reign together in the hearts and minds of all of us; a world where you have to choose between obeying God or disobeying God, which ultimately is a choice between life and death.  That is the world Jesus was born into and demonstrated that choice with his death, providing a reconciliation with God once and for all for all of us.  Everyone must make the choice of accepting that reconciliation for themselves.  But we still live in a world where some choose to reject the offer and demand to live their own life, their way.  That is where the issues come forth.

Conversion to God and His Way cannot be forced.  It can only be received and believed.  We still have to live together.  God will ask for an accounting in the end, but till then we are called to live together in love.  Jesus calls me to love those who I are in fellowship and agreement with; he calls me to love my neighbor, those I live together with, he calls me to love my enemies, those who don’t accept God, Jesus, or me.  That means I am called to love everybody and try to live together in peace.

It is my job to be a witness of what God can do in an individual’s life, sharing what He did and continues to do in mine; but that is all I can do.  I need to do that whether or not others accept or reject God.  I also need to respect and love them no matter what their choice is; that choice is between them and God and mo one else.  But we need to find ways to live together, holding to my own faith and understanding of God, yet open to those who do not share my convictions, all in a spirit of love.  That is what my heart believes.

It is my belief that the battle being fought is in the Spiritual realm of which God is in control, not against my neighbors or enemies.  Jesus wept over Jerusalem because he knew many would not receive what he had been sent to give.  All people of faith can weep over those who continue to reject what he continues to give, but we need to put down our weapons and release them to God; love and pray for them, and work at finding ways to live together, always being light and salt and a living example of one who follows Jesus and lives in love and grace.

WHAT WILL BE WILL BE

All The hoopla, all the strategy, all the uniting together, all the man made plans, are futile.  God remains in ultimate control.  The stage is being set.  Business as usual is no longer an option.  The broken cisterns that human beings have been continually making, knowing that they can hold no water, will be smashed totally and returned to dust.

The leaders who fiddled while the nations were burning and those who made a joke of all that is sacred will now watch their world crumble all around them from all of the corruption they allowed to progress by saying what was evil was good and what was good was evil.  Their abandonment of God and their disrespect of His ways made them blind and foolish.

This includes the self appointed ‘leaders of the faith’ who are calling for a battle against Trump when they should be calling for a Repentance of all people in this land.  A monster has been made, they declare.  But what is overlooked is that it is a monster they all helped to progressively create.  That calls for REPENTENCE not rebellion.

The foundation that some people of faith have been chipping away at for years will finally crumble.  But the fountain of life that feeds the springs in the heart of those who believe in and truly trust is forever flowing and can never be stopped.  The foundation built on Jesus Christ and His Word is a ROCK untouched and unmarred by human hands.  Men tried once to destroy it by nailing Him to a cross and killing Him.  But God id not mocked and He raised him from the dead and gave him rule over all…forever.  This is what and who my hope lies in; this is what my life is built on; nothing less.  I know that in the midst of this darkness there shines a bright Light.  This should be the message from all people of faith to the world.

The stage is being set.  WHAT WILL BE WILL BE.

“I hear a sound coming from the mountain

I hear it clearer each day

I hear a sound coming from the mountain

And it’s saying, “Prepare ye the way”.

Prepare ye the way, Prepare ye the way

Prepare ye the way of the Lord.”

MY MENTORS

“For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world,

 in the things He has made.”

God has put His witness on this earth.  He reveals and reflects Himself in nature and in His Son, Jesus Christ.  As a child of God, created in His image, I am to reveal and reflect the attributes and the divine nature of God in my life.  That became my mission the moment I received Jesus and His work of reconciliation as a reality in my life and believed in his name; the moment I was given the right to become a child of God.  My message is the Gospel, the good news that Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the grave, reconciling my relationship with God through His love and forgiveness.

Nature constantly reveals the message of life-death-life as the season change.  The Scriptures reveal the Person of Jesus Christ and give me the history and meaning of the Story of the process of reconciliation.  They continue to give meaning to my life now and the life to come.  That makes Nature and the Scriptures my mentors in the Way I have chosen to follow on my journey through this life.

Throughout the years these mentors have become the delight of my life.  They are faithful friends and good guides.  They provide discipline and direction as I journey through the good times and the bad times.  They assist me in negotiating the hazards and obstacles I come upon as I walk along the path.  They allow me freedom but always have my back to protect me from those who might wish me harm, or tempt me to go another way.

We enjoy each others company and it is not a duty, but a delight to spend time with them in God’s Presence.  They constantly remind me of how good God is and of the labor of love Jesus accomplished to reconcile and restore my relationship to the One who created me.  My life is full and my journey is sweet.  I long for the final destination but for now will delight in the Way there.

CULTIVATING THE CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP

Life is full of choices.  The choices I make will either lead me on a good path that leads to life or a bad path that leads to death.  As an adult I make these choices everyday.  But as a child I needed to be taught right from wrong.  The proper way to teach these lessons is not done by domination but by demonstration.  An effective way for adults to best teach children is by the witness of their lives.  Witness is more effective than words alone.  It takes presence and time to bring a child up into adulthood; the more the better.  I believe that is true in discipleship as well.  Jesus certainly modeled that as we worked with those he was grooming to be his witnesses after he returned to his Father.

 Presence and time are rare commodities in the world today. The effects of that are undisciplined children who grow into adults who are continually searching for meaning and purpose, who usually find themselves looking in all the wrong places, lost and alone.  I believe God has the answers to meaning and purpose and to all matters of life.  He created it and meaning and purpose are intrinsic in the life He made.

There is a lot of negativity about Religion these days.  It has been made out to be an enemy in the Christian life rather than a helpmate.  Human beings do some really weird things with all that God has given them.  The weirdest and most harmful is to take things out of God’s hands and take over building what they are sure God wanted to build.  I believe Religion is one of those things.

Human beings took God’s words and turned them into an organized system of beliefs and rituals.  God spoke words of life and gave ways to live, support, and sustain that life.  Human take a living organism and make it into a mechanical system.  One is alive and continually produces life; the other works by routine and needs to be maintained.

God said that, “my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”  I believe the same can be said about Religion.  I need instruction to live the life God made for me to live.  I need to know the laws, principles, and standards for that life so that I can live it to the fullest.  I need a map for the journey ahead that gives me the path to follow, makes the boundaries, and gives me details of the landscape and things to be aware of.  I need a standard set that I can measure my growth by.  This is what Religion means to me.  It is my “swimming buddy” in the fountain of living water who watches over me and assists me if I get into trouble.

The Truth for me is that Religion is not an organized system of beliefs and rituals.  Religion is a Person, God in the flesh, Jesus Christ Himself.  He said he came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets…He is the Law and the Prophets.  He is the rituals that foreshadowed him.  He is the map and the standard.  He is my swimming buddy in the fountain of living waters.

To me Religion is not a dead system to be discarded; it’s a Person to be declared to those who are lost and looking for lives with meaning and purpose.  He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  He calls to those who are lost and alone to come and follow him; to be his disciple and be a witness to others to come as well.  Religion is a helpmate to cultivating that call.