I have written this in part to what I will be including in the book I intend to write and publish, "Why The Church Is Failing".
The church has great wealth and it is found to be lacking in true outreach to the lost and those in real spiritual and physical needs, as commanded by Christ. It prefers to feed itself and it's own kind. Now, to a limit that is fine, but not to the excess that it actually does.
The organization operates in the opposite of what God's "Ekklesia" should be, if led and inspired by and administered by the Holy Spirit.
If the organizational church really is the Ekklesia, then it is a very poor example of the love that Christ described that calls us to lay down ourselves for others.
It seeks it's good, not that of those outside of it- overall. Let us look at the proof of what I am saying.
For example, let's look at some statistics that have been gathered over the years on church wealth.
According to a national study of how religious affiliation affects the amount of wealth Americans accumulate, Jews amass the most wealth ($150,890 average net worth); “mainline Protestants” and Catholics are about average with the rest of the population ($48,200 average net worth); and “conservative Protestants” accumulate the least ($26,200 average net worth). (Note: The author includes major cults in her definition of “mainline Protestants” and “conservative Protestants.”)
Total Christian [including nominal] income in the United States is $5.2 trillion annually, nearly half of the world’s total Christian income.
Wealth Accumulation (American Evangelicals)
In 2000, American evangelicals (pop. 98.6 million) collectively made $2.66 trillion in personal income.
There is an estimated $850 billion per year of disposable income among evangelicals in the United States.
The wealth of the Church elevates it to an unsurpassed prestige. The contributions of the congregations of twenty-five denominations in the United States for even back in 1928 was $402,682,961.82. Can the Standard Oil of New Jersey show anything like that? Not even the greatest of our financial corporations can boast either the financial or social or political prestige of either the Catholic, Methodist or Episcopal churches here. Thus, the gifts from the living as well as income on permanent funds and legacies controlled by these twenty-five church denominations in America totaled in 1928 $532,368,714.80. The Methodist Episcopals alone, one little subsidiary of this great group, received in 1928, $98,758,030. The Presbyterians had $75,054,538 to spend. The Methodist Episcopals in the South, a separate group, collected $42,837,679; the Protestant Episcopals $46,088,274, and the Baptists, in the South only, $40,038,259. Obviously this is why the Church (speaking of all denominations collectively) is able to organize tremendous political lobbies.
I just read tonight of a Southern Baptist Church that just made $885,000 from a film they produced, they intend to spend the largest part for themselves in paying off their own debts, buildings and other associated cost and the other $200,000 is be used to build a sports arena. Self gratifying always!
As I showed earlier, American evangelicals- a misnomer of a name - as the only one benefiting and being evangelized with the money is the organization and leaders themselves.
1. In 2000, American evangelicals collectively made $2.66 trillion in income.
2. Total Christian [including nominal] income in the United States is $5.2 trillion annually, nearly half of the world’s total Christian income.
NOW WHO ENJOYS THE SPLENDOR OF HER WEALTH AND PRIDE -
In 2000, nearly 97 percent of the entire income of all Christian organizations was spent on, and primarily benefited, other Christians at home or abroad: $261 billion spent on ministering to Christians, $7.8 billion on already-evangelized non-Christians, and $0.81 billion on unevangelized non-Christians. Of all the money it has taken in, it spends less than a billion on true outreach to the lost and despairing of this world who have never heard the Gospel!
Eighty percent of the world’s evangelical wealth is in North America—and the total represents way more than enough to fund the fulfillment of the Great Commission.
She enjoys her delicasies does she not. While men go unclothed and unfed across the world and in our streets, she feeds herself, and clothes herself and relishes in her riches. Men die everyday withour health care, the basic necessities of life, little children are starving, people need water.
Thousands across the world have yet to hear the Gospel or be discipled in Christ, yet the organizational church, just keeps building towers to heaven. Keeps paying it's builders, it's program directors, it's corporate CEO's.
Now you tell me who was the Lord addressing in Revelation if it is not the churches of today and tell me who it is that is Babylon in the book of Revelation if not the organized church?
There is a great need for the restoration of the "Ekklesia" of the living Christ, the true body assemblying where money is not involved to support itself, but as originally intended to only care for the poor and the downtrodden, the captive, and the lost. This means it will mean the complete dismantling of a system Satan begin to build 1900 years ago, to draw men away from this heresy to a true community in Christ and the call to go ye forth - preaching the Gospel to all the world.
The organizational churches and their power and wealth, will have to be dismantled. Paid clergy and building the buildings and cathedrals to itself will have to cease, if the world is to ever really know Christ. The wealth of those who go by the name of Christ, will have to be expended on someone other then themselves, to reach a lost and dying world.
The marketplace tables will have to be overturned and their money scattered to the sidewalks if the real Church of Jesus Christ is to ever reach the dying, the hungry , the thirsty and the lost.
It is a sad state of falsehood that Christians have been blinded by for far too long.
I pray that we may recall the Words of the Lord in speaking through the Apostle John in Revelation 3:14 -22
And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write:These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God: 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot:I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth. 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art the wretched one and miserable and poor and blind and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; and white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see. 19 As many as I love, I reprove and chasten:be zealous therefore, and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock:if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. 21 He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with me in my throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his throne. 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
Truth is truth and we must examine ourselves before Almighty God and then repent.
For we have peddled the Word of God for profit unto ourselves. We lavish in riches, but are broke, we dress ourselves, up but we are naked.
Dr. J.
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Saturday, August 25, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The Number Two - For The Church
I have written somewhat on this subject before on my other blog Dialegomai .
The subject to which I allude to is the one of whether God intended to have His church carry the practice of the Catholic church- having one man over-rule or to have a multiplicity of elders under-sheparding the body of Christ when they come together in assembly.
As I thought more about this in relationship to scripture, many passages of scripture came to mind and the recalling how the Lord throughout both the Old and the New Testament always worked and spoke using men in two's not singularly.
I have noticed that within the Southern Baptist Convention that they are being finally challenged with this question and it is beginning to be debated on scriptural grounds somewhat as to whether Scripture outlines for "church government" a multiplicity of elders or congregational rule. The issue starting coming to the attention of The Baptist Convention sometime back in 1994- see: "Elders in Baptist churches? Conference examines the idea".
The whole problem with both of their arguments, it is an argument over rulership rather than sheparding by example. It disregards Holy Spirit selection of the elders within the community of believers. It is in debate because both sides fear losing power. In the truth of the true Ekklesia, there is no such debate because only Christ rules.
They have forgotten the admonishment by the Lord Jesus Christ himself when discussing this subject.
Let us look at this:
The answer is: Jesus purges Christian leadership of everything that makes it ugly and builds into Christian leadership what makes it beautiful. He purges it of self-exaltation; and he builds into it the reality of servanthood. He says, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled" (Matthew 23:12). That's the end of arrogance and self-exaltation in Christian leadership. And he says, "Whoever would be great among you must be your servant" (Matthew 20:26). That's the key to beautiful leadership that builds up others.
This should humble those who are in positions of leadership. True leadership is not leadership at all but servitude that is gifted by the Spirit of Christ.
Leaders are not to be overlords but they are suppose to be under-shepards. God never intended for the elders to be subjagating themselves just to those that have the money, that prop up the system or those that pay their salary and the bills of the organization. If you eliminate money out of being one of the foundations of all of Christendom's organizational church, and advocate, not salaried pastors, buildings to meet in, or building big organizations, the churches of today and yesterday would collapse over night and then only would the true body of Christ be revealed.
The very first thing we need to look at in this ongoing treatise of mine, that I have referred to as the title of a book I plan to write and publish, "Why The Church Is Failing". Did God intend for more than one person to do the teaching and under-sheparding within the body of Christ?
We need to look at this along with the verses I have to quote the necessity by scripture to have a muliplicity of elders,who are gifted with teaching over one man pastoralship.
The main reason for this is required is because it is the means that God chose throughout scripture to insure truth was proclaimed among His people and to His people.
I want to borrow from a writing by Tony Warren on "The Numbers in Scripture".
"When we look through the scriptures we find that God often uses the number two as a signification for agreement, and by implication, truth. And because God has declared that the Church is the pillar and ground of the truth (1st Timothy 3:15), this number is also often used in association with it. It's the numerical symbolism of a faithful (truthful) witness or testimony. i.e., one being in agreement or a "confirming" witness of another. For example, the two witnesses spoken about in the book of Revelation chapter eleven. They are the Lord's faithful witnesses who bear testimony to the truth! Therefore are they spoken of as "two" witnesses, signifying that they come with the truth. In fact, we can readily see that the designation of two witnesses has always been the guide post that God has used for "establishing agreement of truth." From scripture we see that from the very beginning God instituted this number as the guide post for truth.
Numbers 35:30
"Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die."
Here God is using the minimum number of "two" witnesses to Illustrate the corroboration of what is the truth (Deu. 17:6).
One witness could not by God's law establish it as the truth. It took at least "two" witnesses to establish any accusation true, that a man could be put to death. This number two signified the agreement or corroboration that established truth. That is precisely why Revelation chapter eleven uses the phrase "two witnesses". It is to signify that these are the truthful or faithful witnesses of Christ who went forth declaring God's Word! The Lord does nothing by coincidence and that phrase establishes that their testimony is the true witness.
Again, we can see this same principle illustrated when Jesus reiterates this law of God in Matthew.
Matthew 18:16
"But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established."
A minimum of two witnesses would establish the truth. Note it says there "that every word may be established". In other words, a witness to verify the truth of what's been said. Two witnesses symbolize that what's being said is verified true by law. The concept that God ordained from the beginning.
John 8:17
"It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.."
God's law prescribed that the Testimony of "two" men is a truthful testimony. That number two illustrates God is using the number as the establishment that what is said is the truth. Likewise, when Jesus Christ sent the Seventy out to witness or testify to the truth, not coincidentally, he sent them out by two.
Luke 10:1
"After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them Two and Two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come."
He sent them out by two and two (two witnesses) and told them that he who hears you, hears Me! In Other words, they went with the unadulterated truth which was God's Word! Indeed, they were the truthful witnesses to it! And he who heard them, heard God's Word of truth, at their mouth!
This is the Church sent out "the Two Witnesses." Jesus sending them out by two established in scripture the numerical symbology that they went with the power of the truth of God's Word. Likewise, Jesus did the exact same thing with the twelve disciples because God wants us to know assuredly that His Church declares His word in truth. Indeed, it is the pillar and ground of it! That is what is illustrated by this number two.
Mark 6:7
"And He called unto Him the twelve, and began to send them forth two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits."
The truth of these things becomes self evident when we compare scripture with scripture. The testimony of the Old Testament is that God would often send two angels or messengers to His prophets in order to reveal some truth of His Word to them. Even as Jesus ascended to heaven there were two Messengers there to signify of a truth He would return in like manner. We read,
Acts 1:10
"And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel:
Or again, God illustrates truth with this number in Hebrews six.
Hebrews 6:17-18
"Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, Confirmed it by an oath:
That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to LIE, we might have a strong consolation..."
He confirmed it with an oath that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible to lie. That means the absolute truth! All through scripture we see the number two used to illustrate truthfulness or faithfulness. Whether it's the Spiritual signification of the two candlesticks, or the two fishes that feed thousands, or the two brothers (The sons of Thunder), or when the Disciples said, "Lord, Here are two swords" (Luke 22:38) and Jesus said, it is enough, etc., etc. The symbolism of the number two in scripture for the truth or the faithful witness is clear.
This being so, it's no wonder we see this number used many times in relationship to the body of believers, which is God's true church, and the Word of God which is the truth of scripture! Truth and God's church go hand in hand as they are the witnesses of it.
1st Timothy 3:15
"But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth".
The Church is identified with the number two because it is the Pillar and ground of the truth. The faithful servant and witness of God.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are many more examples of God always working his truth through two witnesses, all you have to do is look at Aaron and Moses in the beginning and Paul and Silas in the end.
Why would men, so disobey God's word in His clear admonishment to have more than a single witness within His body? The answer is men's traditions and man's ways. It is purely a carryover from the thoughts and theology of men, and not scripture.
God never intended to have a single voice speaking for the body of Christ. Thus he even sent out the disciples in two, Paul traveled in two's and on and on scripture verifies the necessity for a multiplicity of witnesses- no less than two. The single man Pastor is unscriptural and remains so. If we truly to desire to have the church of Jesus Christ to turn this world upside down for Him, then we must hear the Word of the Lord first - Scripture.
The truth of God's word must speak for the truth and not men's traditions, these traditions that are just a carry over from the rule of the Pope -even in Protestantism.
The Protestants have continued this gravest error since their birth by Martin Luther. Luther was not about to reliquish that position for anyone, he would have to give up self-power and rule over others. How else can the coffers kept full but one man to sit in the Temple of God and declare himself God. This is the meaning of this scripture in Revelation. It has nothing to do with some one person someday doing this, it is the very essence of the anti-christ spirit, to sit in the place of god and declare yourself god, this is the apostasy that Paul and others warned was coming. In less than 100 years, man did this. Ignatius and others lighting the fire for this vain philosphy with the idea that when the Bishop speaks it is the same as God speaking!
Doesn't it even make just commone sense that two men to agree takes much more than one man dictating.
There is a balance in this. It keeps error out and allows the Spirit to speak. It is the basis for the ideals of checks and balances within our own government. You take that away, truth and freedom are gone forever, just as freedom of the body of believers led by the Holy Spirit as been usurped by man's traditions now for over 1,907 years of church history.
The Baptist are on the right track but the wrong train. The matter is not an issue of who should rule, but how many should be examples, how many within a body should do the overall teaching, and guiding as an under-shepard by example of life" chosen by God " within the community of believers in assembly and not the organization, it's rules, it determinations, it wordly ways to decision making. Education, Importance, Resume and more being the criteria rather than God raising up among a body those He has chosen.
The issue for the Baptist or any organizational church is just that they want to have some sort of organization based on men's concepts of leadership rather than the clearly laid out plan as given by Christ for His Ekklesia. Even if they introduce eldership, they want to divide it again down to one man who teaches and the others who adminstrates- desperately trying to hold to the one man rule with a slight bend toward trying to be scriptural. They are wrong in all aspects.
The problem is they are an institution, that is an organization based on every opposite of what Christ and scripture teaches.
It slams the priesthood of believers in the face with hypocrisy, formulating a rulership, a high priest institution,- a return to Judaism, though in word they say they beleive in the "priesthood of all believers" and "Christ as their high priest" but in practice, it is everything but that.
The church has first displaced Christ as the head of the Ekklesia for the State, by forming a business rather than a body of believers . They do this by making it a business incorporation, rather than the mystical body of Christ. Pleasing the State must first be the primary consideration. Tax free status, and incorporation to determine who will be the power over.
The primary reason for this is the "love of money".
The second thing is they have defined a form of government for themselves that follows the plans of men and men always wanting power over others. Forgetting Christ's admonishment as to what real leadership is.
They need to re-read Matthew Chapter 23, verses 1-12 again, and commit them to memory, that they may not sin against Him who is the very Ekklesia - Jesus Christ our Lord.
My absolute belief is the organizational church will continue to fail, in ever being a representive of Christ and His Spirit because in truth it is not the body of Christ. The true Ekklesia and any local assembly is the body of those who come together in love and the only High Priest present is Jesus Christ- the only one deserving of honor above all men. There is none that sit in the center of attention other than Jesus Christ our Lord.
The change to eldership verses congregationalism for Southern Baptist or any "religious organization" will not change things for them, as long as this is viewed as "rulership and a form of government" rather than the gifts of the Holy Spirit to His believers and that it is He who chooses those that are gifted to teach by example and word. It is He that creates within us a spirit of servitude rather than lordship over others. It is He that they need. It is only He that can formulate and show what it means to be a member of the Kingdom of God and not the kingdoms of men.
Two - is the first answer for all bodies meeting. God designed truth to be only revealed in two's.
But the first thing that has to go is arrogance in the Pastors, the wealthy that pay the bills, and the congregation who too wants to have power over others. Ture Congregationalism can only exist where Christ is King, and each believer is exerising through the leadership of the Holy Spirit the gifts given unto them. This is far beyond the big mouth and the little ears concept that man has traditionally practiced in the physical church. The real Ekklesia is spiritual but for it to be extended into the reality of it being seen on this earth, we must return to He who is the Founder of our Faith, and He who said that "two " is His way. We have to return to humble yourselves before God. Don't think of yourself as more important than others. Keep company with those who are the lowly of this earth.
I love Pastors they hav just been seriously mislead by men. I invite eac of them to take heed to the words of Christ and the practices of the Early Church and the Apostles. Let us return, not in just a reformation of the church, but to a restoration of the church.
God humble us to know thy ways! Teach us your word, hide it in our hearts, that we might not sin against thee.
Dr. J.
The subject to which I allude to is the one of whether God intended to have His church carry the practice of the Catholic church- having one man over-rule or to have a multiplicity of elders under-sheparding the body of Christ when they come together in assembly.
As I thought more about this in relationship to scripture, many passages of scripture came to mind and the recalling how the Lord throughout both the Old and the New Testament always worked and spoke using men in two's not singularly.
I have noticed that within the Southern Baptist Convention that they are being finally challenged with this question and it is beginning to be debated on scriptural grounds somewhat as to whether Scripture outlines for "church government" a multiplicity of elders or congregational rule. The issue starting coming to the attention of The Baptist Convention sometime back in 1994- see: "Elders in Baptist churches? Conference examines the idea".
The whole problem with both of their arguments, it is an argument over rulership rather than sheparding by example. It disregards Holy Spirit selection of the elders within the community of believers. It is in debate because both sides fear losing power. In the truth of the true Ekklesia, there is no such debate because only Christ rules.
They have forgotten the admonishment by the Lord Jesus Christ himself when discussing this subject.
Let us look at this:
The answer is: Jesus purges Christian leadership of everything that makes it ugly and builds into Christian leadership what makes it beautiful. He purges it of self-exaltation; and he builds into it the reality of servanthood. He says, "Whoever exalts himself will be humbled" (Matthew 23:12). That's the end of arrogance and self-exaltation in Christian leadership. And he says, "Whoever would be great among you must be your servant" (Matthew 20:26). That's the key to beautiful leadership that builds up others.
This should humble those who are in positions of leadership. True leadership is not leadership at all but servitude that is gifted by the Spirit of Christ.
Leaders are not to be overlords but they are suppose to be under-shepards. God never intended for the elders to be subjagating themselves just to those that have the money, that prop up the system or those that pay their salary and the bills of the organization. If you eliminate money out of being one of the foundations of all of Christendom's organizational church, and advocate, not salaried pastors, buildings to meet in, or building big organizations, the churches of today and yesterday would collapse over night and then only would the true body of Christ be revealed.
The very first thing we need to look at in this ongoing treatise of mine, that I have referred to as the title of a book I plan to write and publish, "Why The Church Is Failing". Did God intend for more than one person to do the teaching and under-sheparding within the body of Christ?
We need to look at this along with the verses I have to quote the necessity by scripture to have a muliplicity of elders,who are gifted with teaching over one man pastoralship.
The main reason for this is required is because it is the means that God chose throughout scripture to insure truth was proclaimed among His people and to His people.
I want to borrow from a writing by Tony Warren on "The Numbers in Scripture".
"When we look through the scriptures we find that God often uses the number two as a signification for agreement, and by implication, truth. And because God has declared that the Church is the pillar and ground of the truth (1st Timothy 3:15), this number is also often used in association with it. It's the numerical symbolism of a faithful (truthful) witness or testimony. i.e., one being in agreement or a "confirming" witness of another. For example, the two witnesses spoken about in the book of Revelation chapter eleven. They are the Lord's faithful witnesses who bear testimony to the truth! Therefore are they spoken of as "two" witnesses, signifying that they come with the truth. In fact, we can readily see that the designation of two witnesses has always been the guide post that God has used for "establishing agreement of truth." From scripture we see that from the very beginning God instituted this number as the guide post for truth.
Numbers 35:30
"Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die."
Here God is using the minimum number of "two" witnesses to Illustrate the corroboration of what is the truth (Deu. 17:6).
One witness could not by God's law establish it as the truth. It took at least "two" witnesses to establish any accusation true, that a man could be put to death. This number two signified the agreement or corroboration that established truth. That is precisely why Revelation chapter eleven uses the phrase "two witnesses". It is to signify that these are the truthful or faithful witnesses of Christ who went forth declaring God's Word! The Lord does nothing by coincidence and that phrase establishes that their testimony is the true witness.
Again, we can see this same principle illustrated when Jesus reiterates this law of God in Matthew.
Matthew 18:16
"But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established."
A minimum of two witnesses would establish the truth. Note it says there "that every word may be established". In other words, a witness to verify the truth of what's been said. Two witnesses symbolize that what's being said is verified true by law. The concept that God ordained from the beginning.
John 8:17
"It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.."
God's law prescribed that the Testimony of "two" men is a truthful testimony. That number two illustrates God is using the number as the establishment that what is said is the truth. Likewise, when Jesus Christ sent the Seventy out to witness or testify to the truth, not coincidentally, he sent them out by two.
Luke 10:1
"After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them Two and Two before His face into every city and place, whither He Himself would come."
He sent them out by two and two (two witnesses) and told them that he who hears you, hears Me! In Other words, they went with the unadulterated truth which was God's Word! Indeed, they were the truthful witnesses to it! And he who heard them, heard God's Word of truth, at their mouth!
This is the Church sent out "the Two Witnesses." Jesus sending them out by two established in scripture the numerical symbology that they went with the power of the truth of God's Word. Likewise, Jesus did the exact same thing with the twelve disciples because God wants us to know assuredly that His Church declares His word in truth. Indeed, it is the pillar and ground of it! That is what is illustrated by this number two.
Mark 6:7
"And He called unto Him the twelve, and began to send them forth two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits."
The truth of these things becomes self evident when we compare scripture with scripture. The testimony of the Old Testament is that God would often send two angels or messengers to His prophets in order to reveal some truth of His Word to them. Even as Jesus ascended to heaven there were two Messengers there to signify of a truth He would return in like manner. We read,
Acts 1:10
"And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel:
Or again, God illustrates truth with this number in Hebrews six.
Hebrews 6:17-18
"Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, Confirmed it by an oath:
That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to LIE, we might have a strong consolation..."
He confirmed it with an oath that by two immutable things, in which it was impossible to lie. That means the absolute truth! All through scripture we see the number two used to illustrate truthfulness or faithfulness. Whether it's the Spiritual signification of the two candlesticks, or the two fishes that feed thousands, or the two brothers (The sons of Thunder), or when the Disciples said, "Lord, Here are two swords" (Luke 22:38) and Jesus said, it is enough, etc., etc. The symbolism of the number two in scripture for the truth or the faithful witness is clear.
This being so, it's no wonder we see this number used many times in relationship to the body of believers, which is God's true church, and the Word of God which is the truth of scripture! Truth and God's church go hand in hand as they are the witnesses of it.
1st Timothy 3:15
"But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth".
The Church is identified with the number two because it is the Pillar and ground of the truth. The faithful servant and witness of God.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are many more examples of God always working his truth through two witnesses, all you have to do is look at Aaron and Moses in the beginning and Paul and Silas in the end.
Why would men, so disobey God's word in His clear admonishment to have more than a single witness within His body? The answer is men's traditions and man's ways. It is purely a carryover from the thoughts and theology of men, and not scripture.
God never intended to have a single voice speaking for the body of Christ. Thus he even sent out the disciples in two, Paul traveled in two's and on and on scripture verifies the necessity for a multiplicity of witnesses- no less than two. The single man Pastor is unscriptural and remains so. If we truly to desire to have the church of Jesus Christ to turn this world upside down for Him, then we must hear the Word of the Lord first - Scripture.
The truth of God's word must speak for the truth and not men's traditions, these traditions that are just a carry over from the rule of the Pope -even in Protestantism.
The Protestants have continued this gravest error since their birth by Martin Luther. Luther was not about to reliquish that position for anyone, he would have to give up self-power and rule over others. How else can the coffers kept full but one man to sit in the Temple of God and declare himself God. This is the meaning of this scripture in Revelation. It has nothing to do with some one person someday doing this, it is the very essence of the anti-christ spirit, to sit in the place of god and declare yourself god, this is the apostasy that Paul and others warned was coming. In less than 100 years, man did this. Ignatius and others lighting the fire for this vain philosphy with the idea that when the Bishop speaks it is the same as God speaking!
Doesn't it even make just commone sense that two men to agree takes much more than one man dictating.
There is a balance in this. It keeps error out and allows the Spirit to speak. It is the basis for the ideals of checks and balances within our own government. You take that away, truth and freedom are gone forever, just as freedom of the body of believers led by the Holy Spirit as been usurped by man's traditions now for over 1,907 years of church history.
The Baptist are on the right track but the wrong train. The matter is not an issue of who should rule, but how many should be examples, how many within a body should do the overall teaching, and guiding as an under-shepard by example of life" chosen by God " within the community of believers in assembly and not the organization, it's rules, it determinations, it wordly ways to decision making. Education, Importance, Resume and more being the criteria rather than God raising up among a body those He has chosen.
The issue for the Baptist or any organizational church is just that they want to have some sort of organization based on men's concepts of leadership rather than the clearly laid out plan as given by Christ for His Ekklesia. Even if they introduce eldership, they want to divide it again down to one man who teaches and the others who adminstrates- desperately trying to hold to the one man rule with a slight bend toward trying to be scriptural. They are wrong in all aspects.
The problem is they are an institution, that is an organization based on every opposite of what Christ and scripture teaches.
It slams the priesthood of believers in the face with hypocrisy, formulating a rulership, a high priest institution,- a return to Judaism, though in word they say they beleive in the "priesthood of all believers" and "Christ as their high priest" but in practice, it is everything but that.
The church has first displaced Christ as the head of the Ekklesia for the State, by forming a business rather than a body of believers . They do this by making it a business incorporation, rather than the mystical body of Christ. Pleasing the State must first be the primary consideration. Tax free status, and incorporation to determine who will be the power over.
The primary reason for this is the "love of money".
The second thing is they have defined a form of government for themselves that follows the plans of men and men always wanting power over others. Forgetting Christ's admonishment as to what real leadership is.
They need to re-read Matthew Chapter 23, verses 1-12 again, and commit them to memory, that they may not sin against Him who is the very Ekklesia - Jesus Christ our Lord.
My absolute belief is the organizational church will continue to fail, in ever being a representive of Christ and His Spirit because in truth it is not the body of Christ. The true Ekklesia and any local assembly is the body of those who come together in love and the only High Priest present is Jesus Christ- the only one deserving of honor above all men. There is none that sit in the center of attention other than Jesus Christ our Lord.
The change to eldership verses congregationalism for Southern Baptist or any "religious organization" will not change things for them, as long as this is viewed as "rulership and a form of government" rather than the gifts of the Holy Spirit to His believers and that it is He who chooses those that are gifted to teach by example and word. It is He that creates within us a spirit of servitude rather than lordship over others. It is He that they need. It is only He that can formulate and show what it means to be a member of the Kingdom of God and not the kingdoms of men.
Two - is the first answer for all bodies meeting. God designed truth to be only revealed in two's.
But the first thing that has to go is arrogance in the Pastors, the wealthy that pay the bills, and the congregation who too wants to have power over others. Ture Congregationalism can only exist where Christ is King, and each believer is exerising through the leadership of the Holy Spirit the gifts given unto them. This is far beyond the big mouth and the little ears concept that man has traditionally practiced in the physical church. The real Ekklesia is spiritual but for it to be extended into the reality of it being seen on this earth, we must return to He who is the Founder of our Faith, and He who said that "two " is His way. We have to return to humble yourselves before God. Don't think of yourself as more important than others. Keep company with those who are the lowly of this earth.
I love Pastors they hav just been seriously mislead by men. I invite eac of them to take heed to the words of Christ and the practices of the Early Church and the Apostles. Let us return, not in just a reformation of the church, but to a restoration of the church.
God humble us to know thy ways! Teach us your word, hide it in our hearts, that we might not sin against thee.
Dr. J.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
A View of Our Earthly Future
For sometime now, I have considered returning to college. I am leaning strong toward obtaining a Bachelors degree in Electrical Engineering and then proceeding toward a Doctorate in Physics.
I would like to specialize in either Plasma Energy, Complex Adaptive Systems ( Robotics) or one area I hold a strong interest in is Free Energy or Energy Transfer by Wireless.
Many years ago I was introduced to Nicholai Tesla and his work. Last year I purchased a book on the guy they call -the Master of Lightening. Born between midnight July 9 and 10th in what is now known as Crotia, Bosnia. Tesla became the actual inventor of Radio, not Marconi as so ignorantly taught in schools. Tesla had developed, experimented and proved many of his own theories in electromagnetics and electrical resonance and more over his lifetime. Dying a pauper the U.S. and Russia accumalated much of his work, reports, papers and more.
The Russians first began experimentation on his ideas way before we did and satellite photographs as early as 1980, show that they were working on his concepts of a Beam Weapon. It is believed today by many scientist including a Colonel Beaird, that they developed Scalar Weaponry, giving them the ability to use electromagnetic weapons against the United States, involving weather modification and mind control. There is substantial documentation available throughout the scientific community for both of these possibilities. America because of Tesla began experiments years ago when they built Project HAARP in Alaska and further there is invitation right now for scientist to work for Project Tesla.
Tesla was able to create electrical transfer of energy through space from a generator to a scource and had demonstrated this many times.
He was way ahead of his time, and because of that was very misunderstood by the U.S. Government who on many occasions had turned down his patented devices, which we are just beginning to see today, such as drones, robotically controlled aircraft that is flying over Iraq right now.
He also created acoustic sounding for geology and more. He believed he could with the right resonance crack the world into two pieces. I know it sounds fantastic or unreal, but much of what he discovered back then before his death in January 1943 the physicist and scientist of today are discovering to be true or they are working off the theories and his papers to reproduce the results he had while experimenting in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
One of his most important projects that he worked on was the transfer of energy through air to another location. As I stated earlier he had a great understanding of what later a scientist would come to understand as being called by his name the "Schumann" Resonance in the Ionosphere that surrounds earth. This is extends from the Ionosphere from the ground. He understood lightening, electricity and magnetics better than anyman in his time. Much of Edison's inventions were the work of Tesla while he worked for the man at a young age.
The Schumann resonance (SR) is a set of spectrum peaks in the extremely low frequency (ELF) portion of the Earth's electromagnetic field spectrum. Schumann resonances are global electromagnetic resonances, excited by lightning discharges in the cavity formed by the Earth surface and the ionosphere.
The U.S. Navy according to them , they designed Haarp to experiment with this area for the purpose of communicating to submarines by low frequencies. However, there is much debate as to the real reasons for HAARP, as the ELF radiated heats up the Ionosphere. Many believe and there is strong evidence both scientifically and otherwise that the real purpose is weather modification and control. If one mentions these things they immediately are branded as a lunatic, but the truth be told the U. S. has been experimenting with Weather Control since the days of Viet Nam when they did spraying over the Ho Chi Minh trail in an attempt to turning this into nothing but a mudbog from excessive rain to slow down the NVRA movement of goods and manpower into Viet Nam. Even today, in Texas one can go up to the business license web site and apply for a license in Weather Modification. Look it up for yourself if you don't believe me.
Since then there has been a paper come to light written by the military on Weather Control as a Weapon of choice for the future. I personally have researched this since 1997, with the first appearance of what is called by those of us who recognize them- Chem Trails.
I have 4 theories based on pretty sound evidence I have collected, read, gathered and observed as to why this is being done.
One, there is present experimentation going on in Atmospheric Sciences to create an envelope or produced atmosphere around the world, to overcome what scientist believe is a whole in the Ozone layer. They are producing an artificial one along with being able to modify weather conditions to make either rain or drought. The guy who helped design the Atom Bomb first introduced this idea years ago.
Two, there is a production of this aerosol atmosphere both for reasons of studying Telsa's concepts of the transfer of Electrical energy through space and perhaps a more sinister one of distributing and experimenting with various bacterias, viruses and other bio weaponry on populations to determine cause and effect and treatment or actual mind control or biological manipulation by nano fibers being introduced into our systems by breathing them in.
These are just a few of my theories and others, but I lean the strongest toward HAARP as both as a wireless electrical energy transfer generator and the Chem Trails as Weather modification and energy tracking devices.
I lean more to these two theories because of the staggering amount of actual evidence I have gathered from government and private sources that spell these things out to be true in the research they are doing and they have focused on the last several years and on the very statements of many of their scientist.
I have spent as I said since 1997 researching the phenonemon and the shifts in weather, etc.
I am highly interested in the idea of wireless transfer of energy and even more the idea of free energy that we are just beginning to understand. Tesla was on to it.
My idea of the future looks like this for us. >>
Within a few years, not far off, we will have found away to eliminate all electrical wiring and will draw our energy right out of the air. We will live our life in an atmosphere that is controlled by the powers that rule. Many may even build biodomes in rebellion to this controlled atmosphere to have the weather they prefer over what the ruling government will offer.
All small electrical devices needing batteries or recharging will no longer be needed. Your cell phone, Laptop, IPod and even toys will run off the energy delivered to them by wireless.
This very thing is already a reality see, the website called Powercast.com. This is a company that has already brought this into reality.
Wars will still be fought but men will not war one on one any longer in person, they will fight wars with nothing but robotic devices and even robotic soldiers. This will include all the flying and driving equipment we have now, they will become completely controlled from thousands of miles away, and even these may learn to fight war and kill the chosen enemy by using Artificial Intelligence. Man will kill men but with the intermediary of weapons that they only control through computer programming or a joy stick from a distance. This will increase outbreaks of technological warfare, many wars will be fought just trying to prove who has the greater technology. The hand of men will be stayed from actual close up combat, which will minimize man's hatred for war and only increase aggressions. This will happen because man will have removed the human element from seeing death directly, seeing the destruction of other humans, the blood shed, and it will make it psychologically easier as it will be more like a video game then reality.
The promulgation of pharmacueticals will be that every man woman and child will be on some sort of drug or another, many of these drugs will be behavoir modification drugs and behavoiur controlling drugs. All humans will have a controller, a person that can turn on the nano chemicals in the drugs to cause humans to just about do anything they desire.
Perhaps the movie Matrix isn't that far out after all.
Many wars will be decided as to whether they will be fought not only on the technology that the enemy may have but what drugs they are on.
Pleasure, pain and all the normal emotions of the human race will be found in the pill you took today. Vacations and pleasure will be induced mentally, using drugs, virtual reality, computer programming connecting to human neural pathways and will not be real but in all aspects will seem real with the use by their subjects of holograms as well.
These predictions of mine are not based on weird science but on actual science and experimentation going on right this moment. It sounds scary, but the thing about it, is, what if much of it has already been introduced to us, and we aren't aware of it. It could have happened over a time period, the vaccines are introduced, with chips for tracking that are in your system now, the pill you take could have chemical nano properties you don't know, the air you breathe everyday could already be substitute air, the food you eat has already been genetically modified.
Remember what was Science Fiction just 50 years ago, is a reality today.
The thing is, are you aware of it? Are you actually learning what is transpiring or are you one of the controlled slowly but surely being manipulated into a mere controlled human, controlled by whom or whatever? To believe whatever it is that the media tells you, or the government tells you.
You probably wouldnt know it!
Your cell phone right now, can track you, it intermits frequencies of RF that do effect the brain, and may cause cancer, excitation, depression and more. Look it up, there is research and facts on this out there as well.
The thing, that Christians have, that others do not, is faith in a God that will deliver us from the soon coming wrath upon this world we live in which has gone CRAZY. Our only hope.
In the meantime, I would like to work on the development of free energy - rid of ourselves of the plight of oil and the transfer of electricity to our daily needed devices without having to use unsightly wires and batteries and more.
I would also like to discover the energy that God has already provided for us, that is free and all about us, to become the normal fuel used instead of oil.
The love of oil which equals money, is the biggest cause of wars in the world today and even yesterdays wars. I would like to see us using anything other than oil and I would like to see it free. This takes the power right out of those that would power over us, when energy, water and food become free to all. Let's change the future for the time we remain here, while we wait patiently for the Lord's return. It is possible but remember in Hosea, my people perish because of their lack of knowledge. Brush up on what is really going on out there in the field of sciences, and if you disagree with some of it, write your Congressman. I think it is been plenty of time for them to explain those strange and omnious persistent contrails they spray and why the weather has become so weird. What about the earthquakes in diver places. Could these be produced by men. According to Tesla's theories and some scientific work already done, the answer is yes! Wouldnt you really like to know the truth about all these things?
Remember, though, man may seem to think he is a god, we still have one God, and He is our hope for the future.
I would like to specialize in either Plasma Energy, Complex Adaptive Systems ( Robotics) or one area I hold a strong interest in is Free Energy or Energy Transfer by Wireless.
Many years ago I was introduced to Nicholai Tesla and his work. Last year I purchased a book on the guy they call -the Master of Lightening. Born between midnight July 9 and 10th in what is now known as Crotia, Bosnia. Tesla became the actual inventor of Radio, not Marconi as so ignorantly taught in schools. Tesla had developed, experimented and proved many of his own theories in electromagnetics and electrical resonance and more over his lifetime. Dying a pauper the U.S. and Russia accumalated much of his work, reports, papers and more.
The Russians first began experimentation on his ideas way before we did and satellite photographs as early as 1980, show that they were working on his concepts of a Beam Weapon. It is believed today by many scientist including a Colonel Beaird, that they developed Scalar Weaponry, giving them the ability to use electromagnetic weapons against the United States, involving weather modification and mind control. There is substantial documentation available throughout the scientific community for both of these possibilities. America because of Tesla began experiments years ago when they built Project HAARP in Alaska and further there is invitation right now for scientist to work for Project Tesla.
Tesla was able to create electrical transfer of energy through space from a generator to a scource and had demonstrated this many times.
He was way ahead of his time, and because of that was very misunderstood by the U.S. Government who on many occasions had turned down his patented devices, which we are just beginning to see today, such as drones, robotically controlled aircraft that is flying over Iraq right now.
He also created acoustic sounding for geology and more. He believed he could with the right resonance crack the world into two pieces. I know it sounds fantastic or unreal, but much of what he discovered back then before his death in January 1943 the physicist and scientist of today are discovering to be true or they are working off the theories and his papers to reproduce the results he had while experimenting in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
One of his most important projects that he worked on was the transfer of energy through air to another location. As I stated earlier he had a great understanding of what later a scientist would come to understand as being called by his name the "Schumann" Resonance in the Ionosphere that surrounds earth. This is extends from the Ionosphere from the ground. He understood lightening, electricity and magnetics better than anyman in his time. Much of Edison's inventions were the work of Tesla while he worked for the man at a young age.
The Schumann resonance (SR) is a set of spectrum peaks in the extremely low frequency (ELF) portion of the Earth's electromagnetic field spectrum. Schumann resonances are global electromagnetic resonances, excited by lightning discharges in the cavity formed by the Earth surface and the ionosphere.
The U.S. Navy according to them , they designed Haarp to experiment with this area for the purpose of communicating to submarines by low frequencies. However, there is much debate as to the real reasons for HAARP, as the ELF radiated heats up the Ionosphere. Many believe and there is strong evidence both scientifically and otherwise that the real purpose is weather modification and control. If one mentions these things they immediately are branded as a lunatic, but the truth be told the U. S. has been experimenting with Weather Control since the days of Viet Nam when they did spraying over the Ho Chi Minh trail in an attempt to turning this into nothing but a mudbog from excessive rain to slow down the NVRA movement of goods and manpower into Viet Nam. Even today, in Texas one can go up to the business license web site and apply for a license in Weather Modification. Look it up for yourself if you don't believe me.
Since then there has been a paper come to light written by the military on Weather Control as a Weapon of choice for the future. I personally have researched this since 1997, with the first appearance of what is called by those of us who recognize them- Chem Trails.
I have 4 theories based on pretty sound evidence I have collected, read, gathered and observed as to why this is being done.
One, there is present experimentation going on in Atmospheric Sciences to create an envelope or produced atmosphere around the world, to overcome what scientist believe is a whole in the Ozone layer. They are producing an artificial one along with being able to modify weather conditions to make either rain or drought. The guy who helped design the Atom Bomb first introduced this idea years ago.
Two, there is a production of this aerosol atmosphere both for reasons of studying Telsa's concepts of the transfer of Electrical energy through space and perhaps a more sinister one of distributing and experimenting with various bacterias, viruses and other bio weaponry on populations to determine cause and effect and treatment or actual mind control or biological manipulation by nano fibers being introduced into our systems by breathing them in.
These are just a few of my theories and others, but I lean the strongest toward HAARP as both as a wireless electrical energy transfer generator and the Chem Trails as Weather modification and energy tracking devices.
I lean more to these two theories because of the staggering amount of actual evidence I have gathered from government and private sources that spell these things out to be true in the research they are doing and they have focused on the last several years and on the very statements of many of their scientist.
I have spent as I said since 1997 researching the phenonemon and the shifts in weather, etc.
I am highly interested in the idea of wireless transfer of energy and even more the idea of free energy that we are just beginning to understand. Tesla was on to it.
My idea of the future looks like this for us. >>
Within a few years, not far off, we will have found away to eliminate all electrical wiring and will draw our energy right out of the air. We will live our life in an atmosphere that is controlled by the powers that rule. Many may even build biodomes in rebellion to this controlled atmosphere to have the weather they prefer over what the ruling government will offer.
All small electrical devices needing batteries or recharging will no longer be needed. Your cell phone, Laptop, IPod and even toys will run off the energy delivered to them by wireless.
This very thing is already a reality see, the website called Powercast.com. This is a company that has already brought this into reality.
Wars will still be fought but men will not war one on one any longer in person, they will fight wars with nothing but robotic devices and even robotic soldiers. This will include all the flying and driving equipment we have now, they will become completely controlled from thousands of miles away, and even these may learn to fight war and kill the chosen enemy by using Artificial Intelligence. Man will kill men but with the intermediary of weapons that they only control through computer programming or a joy stick from a distance. This will increase outbreaks of technological warfare, many wars will be fought just trying to prove who has the greater technology. The hand of men will be stayed from actual close up combat, which will minimize man's hatred for war and only increase aggressions. This will happen because man will have removed the human element from seeing death directly, seeing the destruction of other humans, the blood shed, and it will make it psychologically easier as it will be more like a video game then reality.
The promulgation of pharmacueticals will be that every man woman and child will be on some sort of drug or another, many of these drugs will be behavoir modification drugs and behavoiur controlling drugs. All humans will have a controller, a person that can turn on the nano chemicals in the drugs to cause humans to just about do anything they desire.
Perhaps the movie Matrix isn't that far out after all.
Many wars will be decided as to whether they will be fought not only on the technology that the enemy may have but what drugs they are on.
Pleasure, pain and all the normal emotions of the human race will be found in the pill you took today. Vacations and pleasure will be induced mentally, using drugs, virtual reality, computer programming connecting to human neural pathways and will not be real but in all aspects will seem real with the use by their subjects of holograms as well.
These predictions of mine are not based on weird science but on actual science and experimentation going on right this moment. It sounds scary, but the thing about it, is, what if much of it has already been introduced to us, and we aren't aware of it. It could have happened over a time period, the vaccines are introduced, with chips for tracking that are in your system now, the pill you take could have chemical nano properties you don't know, the air you breathe everyday could already be substitute air, the food you eat has already been genetically modified.
Remember what was Science Fiction just 50 years ago, is a reality today.
The thing is, are you aware of it? Are you actually learning what is transpiring or are you one of the controlled slowly but surely being manipulated into a mere controlled human, controlled by whom or whatever? To believe whatever it is that the media tells you, or the government tells you.
You probably wouldnt know it!
Your cell phone right now, can track you, it intermits frequencies of RF that do effect the brain, and may cause cancer, excitation, depression and more. Look it up, there is research and facts on this out there as well.
The thing, that Christians have, that others do not, is faith in a God that will deliver us from the soon coming wrath upon this world we live in which has gone CRAZY. Our only hope.
In the meantime, I would like to work on the development of free energy - rid of ourselves of the plight of oil and the transfer of electricity to our daily needed devices without having to use unsightly wires and batteries and more.
I would also like to discover the energy that God has already provided for us, that is free and all about us, to become the normal fuel used instead of oil.
The love of oil which equals money, is the biggest cause of wars in the world today and even yesterdays wars. I would like to see us using anything other than oil and I would like to see it free. This takes the power right out of those that would power over us, when energy, water and food become free to all. Let's change the future for the time we remain here, while we wait patiently for the Lord's return. It is possible but remember in Hosea, my people perish because of their lack of knowledge. Brush up on what is really going on out there in the field of sciences, and if you disagree with some of it, write your Congressman. I think it is been plenty of time for them to explain those strange and omnious persistent contrails they spray and why the weather has become so weird. What about the earthquakes in diver places. Could these be produced by men. According to Tesla's theories and some scientific work already done, the answer is yes! Wouldnt you really like to know the truth about all these things?
Remember, though, man may seem to think he is a god, we still have one God, and He is our hope for the future.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Chinese Sell Political Prisoners Organs
China is at the center of the Pacific routes to organ transplantation because it has adopted the tactic of harvesting the organs of executed prisoners. In 1984, immediately after cyclo-sporine became available, the government issued a document entitled "Rules Concerning the Utilization of Corpses or Organs from the Corpses of Executed Prisoners." Kept confidential, the new law provided that organs from executed prisoners could be used for transplants if the prisoner agreed, if the family agreed, or if no one came to claim the body. (Robin Munro of Human Rights Watch/Asia brought the law to light.)
This should bring no surprise to anyone that understands that body parts have become a commodity, well traded on in the underground markets as well. Many wealthy Americans go to places like China now to find their needed kidney, heart or whatever organ is needed.
This practice which sad to say, many Americans would approve is an even wider open door to Totalitarism, as it empowers the rich, the elitist, the powerful to power over anyone with death to obtain a nice return on their simple investment of a bullet to the brain.
I have even heard Americans approving of the use, of prisoners being used as "cheap labor" here in America. They approve of it, they think it is wonderful. It all sounds good until you are the one selected to be part of that labor force or in the case of organ transplants when it is your organs chosen to be taken from you by force to be given to a rich elitist.
What people with such simple brains, and stupidity forget, it could be them, and in a totalitarian government it is likely to become them.
I stand in awe of the stupidity that has fallen onto the American mind anymore. Every thing that we once considered sacred to freedom, we give over to those that have power over us, and deliver to them even more power. The whole idea of surveillance on Americans for instance, so driven by fear mongers in Washington, make the people believe they will be safer if they just give up the Constitution and the Bill or Rights over to others that will protect us. My goodness, what has happened to these people has television been such a great brainwashing technique that it was always rumored to be. Republicans most often are the one's who will approve of all this stupidity, but will they, if Hillary Clinton was to become President tommorow. I doubt it, but what people fail to understand is that once you deliver over one of your rights to those in power, they will never be rescinded and given back to you - regardless of who is in office!
The prolongment of Bush's war against Terrorism, is just another means to say, "the priviledges you have delivered over to me, to spy on you, are going to be around for a long time."
China practices and Russia practices the very same elimnation of rights- saying "the State will protect you."
Communism is here already, I sincerely doubt that there is much left of our Republic. Remember it was designed and set up as a Republic and not a Democracy.
There is a big difference.
What becomes of a nation who once looked upon the torture of others, as horrible. We decried Hitler's practices, we decried saying Saddam was a cruel dictator, but what of us, when we look just like them, act just like them, and then approve of their very same practices, doesn't that make us what they are? Where is the difference?
I pray everyday for Americans to gain some common sense once again. I pray they will understand that no one powering over you, can provide security, the very idea, means that when you hand over those principles our forefathers fought so hard to provide for us they are gone and gone for good. Giving these to those who power over you, do you honestly believe that a man, any one man can be trusted with such power as to spy on you, won't also rule over you.
The Chinese have taken incarceration one more step toward profitability, with the selling of political and criminal ( hard line to distinguish in totalitarian governments) body organs on the market and being sold exclusively to those with the bucks!
God forbid, at the rate of degeneration of the thought processes of Americans we will soon find ourselves, saying well "what's wrong with that"?
I can hear all those fundalmentalist, right wing, conservative, church going, Pro-Israel, Christian Nationalist right now, saying just that.
I have already heard them approving of American corporations obtaining the priviledge of using people that are in American prisons, as cheap labor for the benefit of them making a profit.
Our world is sick, and I am sad to say, people that think this way regardless of what they want to call themselves, they are sick.
So what, if the prisoner might be paid $2.50 per day. The slippery slope has already arrived, what is to keep the rich someday from deciding that YOU- are needed to improve their profits.
What will happen when the rich upperclass begin to come up with more crazy laws, just to have you incarcerated or even killed so that they can maintain their margins of profitability.
Think -
For God's sake of the ramifications of such stupidity and thoughtless agreement with these practices.
What if something you said, or something you discussed with others, didnt fit the accepted majorities or especially your centralized powers of governments ideals, and you were spied on and recorded, or accused of being a traitor or whatever the central power decides is politically incorrect or Bush incorrect or for you Republicans- Hillary incorrect, if she were to become President.
What if you find the giving up your rights was contributory to your demise, or your incarceration, so that others could profit from it.
The new globalization and reduction of American civil liberties is moving us closer and closer to that day, when you as a Christian will be dragged to the streets and shot in the head, and your body sold off for it's parts. Will you then, say see, I was safe because I gave up my power as an American to let someone else have power over me for the sake of security.
Don't you understand, that freedom of speech, freedom of the right to privacy, freedom to guard yourself against those who would power over you, comes in maintaining, search warrants oversight by the people. Especially in a government where it is supposed to be, by the people, and for the people.
When you eliminate these rights you have just become a Communist.
I will make it clear, the communist, have swept over our nation and convinced the very one's who not so many years ago, wanted us to fight in Viet Nam because of the Domino theory are the very one's that now believe and act like Communist. They have taken the great concepts of the Balance of Powers and the Constitutional - Checks and Balances, and have handed them over to The Executive Branch and said whatever Mr. Bush says he needs to protect us, we'll give him.
Your idolization of one men rule will ruin this country and has done so already.
I am sorry but I personally think the Red Flag is already flying over America, and if it really is, we are at fault, we were not vigilant to protect those rights to which our forefathers spilled their blood to give us, and to protect this Republic.
I pray that every American would go back and open their "old " history books and learn something.
Our contribution to the Chinese economy, our turning our backs on Christian brothers and sisters over there suffering torture, death and imprisonment, our disregard for human rights, our war mongering spirit, our hatred and our lust for the blood of others, our love of things, has overwhelmed any God given common sense in this country and now we are paying the consequences for our lack of understanding.
Wake up America before the last chances and vestials of freedom are gone, and you find yourself working from a prison camp or having your body cut open and your organs sold on the world's commodity markets.
Where is Compassion - where is common sense in those that want to call themselves by the name of Jesus.
I am sorry to say, there is a false gospel that has pervaded those who once lived out their lives by His name. Instead, we have become, the ME, generation and what you will find is the ME is about to be run over by the THEM.
Every thing that we as Christians are to only pray for when it comes to the kingdoms and powers of this earth, "the ability to live in peace and freely promulgate the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, is being taken away by false prophets and false teachers in the church and in our government these days. REPENT before it is too late!
How would you feel if one of your loved ones, is accused, taken in, shot in the head, and then their body parts sold on the market to the highest bidder. Probably angry and upset.
Well folks, your dollars at Walmart and other companies that primarily do business with China, are setting you up for it, it won't be long. Americans, just keep giving our executive branch power without checks and balances, just keep approving of stupid corporate techniques to ingratiate themselves with higher profits, just keep letting others power over you, until soon, you will welcome the Red Flag over America. Hey! what the heck- you will be secure from the big bad Terrorist - or will you?
What do you do then, when your life is not threatened from without but from within. What will you do when the next Stalin comes along and he just happens to get elected ( whatever that means, these days) to the position of President and you have given all that ever kept you free away for the sake of what you thought was security, only to find, that you have become the very thing you use to hate in China and Russia.
We have come to accept anything goes as long as it is all about me. Well, if you really are that narcisstic, then really think about you for once but then find the real Jesus and learn to think of others for once.
It will be too late, because you have just suffered the greatest trick of propaganda known to mankind, something that history teaches you.
Of course, you don't have much regard for history, just keep me safe from the WMD's and all. What idiots we have become!
Look, I need a new Pancreas, how about I make a phone call, to the Grand Surveillance Ministry who will formulate charges against you, they will use writing clips, the books you checked out at the library, short clips of phone conversations, mastered to make you sound guilty by speech, and without warrant they will accuse you and arrest you.
I'll have you condemned in my court, where you must prove your innocent, I have already declared you guilty. I will then have you taken away secretly and sentenced immediatly, death will be the judgement, then I'll have you shot, then your pancreas delivered over to me tommorrow by my Red Army Surgeons.
I just happen to be an important General serving in the Red Army and you are just peasant labor anyway. I guess I will get my pancreas afterall, thanks for the help, you gave me that power, because you weren't diligent in keep that one thing for yourself.
That little example above should show you how it works, it should demonstrate to you, what the Chinese people deal with daily in their lives, while we enrich the Communist government with our trade, they are sitting by, just waiting and watching us- JOIN THEM.
It is also a demonstration of what happens when you give people the right to invade and dictate your privacy, right to invade and remove your protection of your life, property and liberty without warrants, when you give it up, you have given it up- it is gone for all time!
Scary, I hope so, maybe you will get some common sense for once, and begin to scream and yell. I will not give up my rights of being the creation of God over to those who think they are gods.
Stand true to liberty and not the re-definition of what that is. How semantics can be utilized to trick people in calling evil good and good evil still amazes me today. We have been brainwashed in only about 10 years, that we can't even tell the difference between what once was American-ism versus Commun-ism. Somebody please show me, and assure me that we haven't gravitated to such ignorance. I really would like to keep my liver, pancreas and heart, at least until the Lord Jesus calls me home.
Dr. J.
This should bring no surprise to anyone that understands that body parts have become a commodity, well traded on in the underground markets as well. Many wealthy Americans go to places like China now to find their needed kidney, heart or whatever organ is needed.
This practice which sad to say, many Americans would approve is an even wider open door to Totalitarism, as it empowers the rich, the elitist, the powerful to power over anyone with death to obtain a nice return on their simple investment of a bullet to the brain.
I have even heard Americans approving of the use, of prisoners being used as "cheap labor" here in America. They approve of it, they think it is wonderful. It all sounds good until you are the one selected to be part of that labor force or in the case of organ transplants when it is your organs chosen to be taken from you by force to be given to a rich elitist.
What people with such simple brains, and stupidity forget, it could be them, and in a totalitarian government it is likely to become them.
I stand in awe of the stupidity that has fallen onto the American mind anymore. Every thing that we once considered sacred to freedom, we give over to those that have power over us, and deliver to them even more power. The whole idea of surveillance on Americans for instance, so driven by fear mongers in Washington, make the people believe they will be safer if they just give up the Constitution and the Bill or Rights over to others that will protect us. My goodness, what has happened to these people has television been such a great brainwashing technique that it was always rumored to be. Republicans most often are the one's who will approve of all this stupidity, but will they, if Hillary Clinton was to become President tommorow. I doubt it, but what people fail to understand is that once you deliver over one of your rights to those in power, they will never be rescinded and given back to you - regardless of who is in office!
The prolongment of Bush's war against Terrorism, is just another means to say, "the priviledges you have delivered over to me, to spy on you, are going to be around for a long time."
China practices and Russia practices the very same elimnation of rights- saying "the State will protect you."
Communism is here already, I sincerely doubt that there is much left of our Republic. Remember it was designed and set up as a Republic and not a Democracy.
There is a big difference.
What becomes of a nation who once looked upon the torture of others, as horrible. We decried Hitler's practices, we decried saying Saddam was a cruel dictator, but what of us, when we look just like them, act just like them, and then approve of their very same practices, doesn't that make us what they are? Where is the difference?
I pray everyday for Americans to gain some common sense once again. I pray they will understand that no one powering over you, can provide security, the very idea, means that when you hand over those principles our forefathers fought so hard to provide for us they are gone and gone for good. Giving these to those who power over you, do you honestly believe that a man, any one man can be trusted with such power as to spy on you, won't also rule over you.
The Chinese have taken incarceration one more step toward profitability, with the selling of political and criminal ( hard line to distinguish in totalitarian governments) body organs on the market and being sold exclusively to those with the bucks!
God forbid, at the rate of degeneration of the thought processes of Americans we will soon find ourselves, saying well "what's wrong with that"?
I can hear all those fundalmentalist, right wing, conservative, church going, Pro-Israel, Christian Nationalist right now, saying just that.
I have already heard them approving of American corporations obtaining the priviledge of using people that are in American prisons, as cheap labor for the benefit of them making a profit.
Our world is sick, and I am sad to say, people that think this way regardless of what they want to call themselves, they are sick.
So what, if the prisoner might be paid $2.50 per day. The slippery slope has already arrived, what is to keep the rich someday from deciding that YOU- are needed to improve their profits.
What will happen when the rich upperclass begin to come up with more crazy laws, just to have you incarcerated or even killed so that they can maintain their margins of profitability.
Think -
For God's sake of the ramifications of such stupidity and thoughtless agreement with these practices.
What if something you said, or something you discussed with others, didnt fit the accepted majorities or especially your centralized powers of governments ideals, and you were spied on and recorded, or accused of being a traitor or whatever the central power decides is politically incorrect or Bush incorrect or for you Republicans- Hillary incorrect, if she were to become President.
What if you find the giving up your rights was contributory to your demise, or your incarceration, so that others could profit from it.
The new globalization and reduction of American civil liberties is moving us closer and closer to that day, when you as a Christian will be dragged to the streets and shot in the head, and your body sold off for it's parts. Will you then, say see, I was safe because I gave up my power as an American to let someone else have power over me for the sake of security.
Don't you understand, that freedom of speech, freedom of the right to privacy, freedom to guard yourself against those who would power over you, comes in maintaining, search warrants oversight by the people. Especially in a government where it is supposed to be, by the people, and for the people.
When you eliminate these rights you have just become a Communist.
I will make it clear, the communist, have swept over our nation and convinced the very one's who not so many years ago, wanted us to fight in Viet Nam because of the Domino theory are the very one's that now believe and act like Communist. They have taken the great concepts of the Balance of Powers and the Constitutional - Checks and Balances, and have handed them over to The Executive Branch and said whatever Mr. Bush says he needs to protect us, we'll give him.
Your idolization of one men rule will ruin this country and has done so already.
I am sorry but I personally think the Red Flag is already flying over America, and if it really is, we are at fault, we were not vigilant to protect those rights to which our forefathers spilled their blood to give us, and to protect this Republic.
I pray that every American would go back and open their "old " history books and learn something.
Our contribution to the Chinese economy, our turning our backs on Christian brothers and sisters over there suffering torture, death and imprisonment, our disregard for human rights, our war mongering spirit, our hatred and our lust for the blood of others, our love of things, has overwhelmed any God given common sense in this country and now we are paying the consequences for our lack of understanding.
Wake up America before the last chances and vestials of freedom are gone, and you find yourself working from a prison camp or having your body cut open and your organs sold on the world's commodity markets.
Where is Compassion - where is common sense in those that want to call themselves by the name of Jesus.
I am sorry to say, there is a false gospel that has pervaded those who once lived out their lives by His name. Instead, we have become, the ME, generation and what you will find is the ME is about to be run over by the THEM.
Every thing that we as Christians are to only pray for when it comes to the kingdoms and powers of this earth, "the ability to live in peace and freely promulgate the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, is being taken away by false prophets and false teachers in the church and in our government these days. REPENT before it is too late!
How would you feel if one of your loved ones, is accused, taken in, shot in the head, and then their body parts sold on the market to the highest bidder. Probably angry and upset.
Well folks, your dollars at Walmart and other companies that primarily do business with China, are setting you up for it, it won't be long. Americans, just keep giving our executive branch power without checks and balances, just keep approving of stupid corporate techniques to ingratiate themselves with higher profits, just keep letting others power over you, until soon, you will welcome the Red Flag over America. Hey! what the heck- you will be secure from the big bad Terrorist - or will you?
What do you do then, when your life is not threatened from without but from within. What will you do when the next Stalin comes along and he just happens to get elected ( whatever that means, these days) to the position of President and you have given all that ever kept you free away for the sake of what you thought was security, only to find, that you have become the very thing you use to hate in China and Russia.
We have come to accept anything goes as long as it is all about me. Well, if you really are that narcisstic, then really think about you for once but then find the real Jesus and learn to think of others for once.
It will be too late, because you have just suffered the greatest trick of propaganda known to mankind, something that history teaches you.
Of course, you don't have much regard for history, just keep me safe from the WMD's and all. What idiots we have become!
Look, I need a new Pancreas, how about I make a phone call, to the Grand Surveillance Ministry who will formulate charges against you, they will use writing clips, the books you checked out at the library, short clips of phone conversations, mastered to make you sound guilty by speech, and without warrant they will accuse you and arrest you.
I'll have you condemned in my court, where you must prove your innocent, I have already declared you guilty. I will then have you taken away secretly and sentenced immediatly, death will be the judgement, then I'll have you shot, then your pancreas delivered over to me tommorrow by my Red Army Surgeons.
I just happen to be an important General serving in the Red Army and you are just peasant labor anyway. I guess I will get my pancreas afterall, thanks for the help, you gave me that power, because you weren't diligent in keep that one thing for yourself.
That little example above should show you how it works, it should demonstrate to you, what the Chinese people deal with daily in their lives, while we enrich the Communist government with our trade, they are sitting by, just waiting and watching us- JOIN THEM.
It is also a demonstration of what happens when you give people the right to invade and dictate your privacy, right to invade and remove your protection of your life, property and liberty without warrants, when you give it up, you have given it up- it is gone for all time!
Scary, I hope so, maybe you will get some common sense for once, and begin to scream and yell. I will not give up my rights of being the creation of God over to those who think they are gods.
Stand true to liberty and not the re-definition of what that is. How semantics can be utilized to trick people in calling evil good and good evil still amazes me today. We have been brainwashed in only about 10 years, that we can't even tell the difference between what once was American-ism versus Commun-ism. Somebody please show me, and assure me that we haven't gravitated to such ignorance. I really would like to keep my liver, pancreas and heart, at least until the Lord Jesus calls me home.
Dr. J.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Scripture Upon Scripture- Compassion
A friend and I have been reading some excellent teachings on a web site called MountainRetreatOrg.net
The crux of the teachings found there are about how we rather than allowing scripture to interpret scripture we have allowed men and his ideas and interpretations to do the interpreting of scripture instead of the Holy Spirit and the Word itself.
How true that is.
I want to share a little something that might help you understand better, what the writers there are saying. Tony Warren is one of my favorite to read. He has a wonderful gift of rightly dividing the Word of Truth.
For example, today in my quiet time, my prayer time, I opened up my Bible and was reading Proverbs Chapter 21:2-3 - Every man's way is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts. To do righteousness and justice is desired by the Lord rather than sacrifice.
I read that and meditated some on it. What does it mean for me as a believer?
I then, knowing this was the Old Covenant- the shadow- the typology of all the Old Testament is found in Christ, I went over to Matthew and begin to read. There must have been God's hand and direction in it, because I opened up to Matthew 9 and begin to read, and what did I come across but the Saviour interpreting the Old for the New.
The substance giving definition to the Shadow.
What does it mean to men, righteousness and justice?
In the flesh, the external, men could come up with many self interpretations from the Old.
But there was Jesus, giving the words life, and defining this justice and righteousness of God in verse 9.
But go and learn what this means, I desire compassion, and not sacrifice, for I did not come to call the righteous but the sinners.
Jesus here defines the Old into the New and leaves nothing open for us to define with our fleshly minds or opinions. God defines His word for us, if we but seek Him and not men for the interpretation.
The Holy Spirit was given to us, to guide us into all truth.
Scriptural truth.
I went back to the chapter, book and verse in Proverbs, just wondering in my reference Bible if this passage would have a foot note referencing Christ words on the matter in Matthew I had found, but found only another Old Testament reference.
I Samuel 15:22 -
And Samuel said, Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.
Once again, if we left this verse and teaching alone with no words from Jesus, man can take this and make it into a thousand different externals for you to live by, and call it obedience.
Religion does just that.
Then there is Hosea 6:6
For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
As we approach the New Testament, we have the book of Hosea near the end of the Old, where once again we see God declares what is better than sacrifice.
So now we have 3 Old Testament scriptures, which is all the Jews had before Christ spoke.
What did they do with these scriptures but throw interpretations of them into mens' ideals.
For the Pharisees, who greatly respected the writings of the Sages and the Tannah who defined these things in the Gemara, the Mishna, which became the Talmud, it meant everything but what God meant it to be.
It placed them onto a pedestal above the people, they stood out in their robes and religious garb, one could not pass near by without their religiousity hanging all over them.
They had their phalacteries, their robes, the Old Testament scrolls, and more to say to the world, "look at me, I am a church member, I am religious, I am clean, I am well".
The Pharisees loved to pray out loud for all to hear, bringing attention to themselves in the marketplaces.
Jesus throws open the doors of understanding of these 3 scriptures in His life example, giving the Word spirit, which brings life.
The letter of the law kills. It killed and kills even today. People are dying within the church and outside of the church because of the letter of the law, all those externals we so desperately grasp at other than Jesus.
Jesus declares the three commands into one - Loyalty, righteousness and justice and obedience all fall into one word, that only the life of Christ can produce in the believer - COMPASSION!
We as men, can devise methods, dogmas, and doctrines of law, to say one is obedient, loyal, righteous and just. We can even call men these things based on the criterian of the Old Testament instead of the New. We can do this based on our church doctrines, our denominational statements, our creeds and our fleshly wisdom but only Jesus can bring the interpretation of what God has always sought for in His people. Only now through Christ and the Holy Spirit can we now have revealed to us the interpretation of the Old. Now that the Holy Spirit has been given to guide us into all truth.
Scripture upon scripture, line upon line, precept upon precept of His Word , can we learn His desire (will) for our lives.
It is only here that for the first time, God dwelling with men, can it be made clear the meaning of the Old. It is only here, that the Spirit can speak, and when He does, men and their ways, their interpretations of Holy Scripture are broken down into little pieces and shards of their vain imaginations are silenced.
Man loses his ability to be in his own nature what God only can provide in the new birth of the Spiritual man.
Man is born carnal and will die carnal, if God never intervenes. God intervenes and calls a man, and gives him the new birth in Christ.
With that new birth though, we still have the old fleshly mind hanging around and without studying God's word and listening to the Holy Spirit, we remain carnal in our thoughts and do not have the mind of Christ. We remain without transformation of mind and heart, until we hear from Him who is the knowledge of God, Jesus Christ, Lord of lords and King of Kings.
Let us hear from the Lord, let us know all the scripture and not those we like to pick and choose from to fit into our own little carnal boxes. Let us let scripture interpret scripture as it does here.
We may have sympathy for others, we may even do good for others, but how often does it reach to the extent of the Saviour, that it goes beyond doing for those that we know, the crowd we hang with, the church members we pal around with, and reaches into the depths and mire of lost humanity to provide - compassion.
The compassion of Christ, who dared religion, dared it's religious leaders by doing all that was opposite of what they had defined as obedience, loyalty, righteousness and justice.
They were so far off the beaten path it was sorrowful.
It was the broad road to destruction that seems right to a "man", these Pharisees teachings and practices, these religious leaders of the time. How far oh! religious leaders have you swayed from the path of Jesus in all that you have called obedience, loyalty, righteous and just.
You missed it as clearly as they have.
You forgot - COMPASSION is what the Lord desires. COMPASSION is what only the Holy Spirit can produce within you. It is that compassion that lead Jesus to the sinners and not the religious. It is that compassion that led the people to Jesus.
It is that compassion that put him where no religious man dare tread. It was compassion that drew the crowds from the religious leaders to hear the Man of Compassion - Jesus Christ. It is compassion that drives some to minister too those that others would not speak to, nor associate with, or be seen dead with.
It is the Spirit of Christ that produces the living Christ within, that reaches out not in condemnation of the loss but in search of the loss to give them living hope and life.
It is compassion that the organizational church lacks today. It is the loss of all that matters, the Spirit of Christ within the body of Christ.
The church as Laodicea has lost it's first love. It has fallen from it's calling. That calling is to love the unlovable, as we are loved. We must not forget, but for Jesus, there goes I. There I am, right there in that man, lying on a corner street, fallen down drunk, with vomit upon his clothes. That is me! That is everything I am -without Christ.
Once again Jesus proved He was counter cultural. He was the radical revolutionary of all time. He didnt come to bring us more of what they already had plenty of - religion, He came to give us life! For He is life.
He worked on the Sabbath
He chose under -qualified disciples
He didn’t seek to be honored
He often was in the midst of undesirables
He was at constant full steam ahead in opposition to those who thought they were well - the religious.
Psalm 85:10 For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.
Jesus shows us that truth and mercy always go hand in hand.
The Church has developed not unlike the Pharisees, into "catering to the well ".
· We have developed systems that take incredible care of the people.. in the church
· We are so good at taking care of the spiritually well that we are making them spiritually obese
· If Christ came for the sick and the sinners then why do we spend so much time with the well and the those who say they are righteous?
· The answer is because it is easier
The flesh finds it much easier to hide within our Ivory Towers of the Church building then it is to be that building which Christ seeks to build made of His people, the broken, the sinner, the lost.
It is not that the institution has not reached out and done some good, but often it has done it as an act of sacrifice, to gain the attention of the masses of the religious. To pat itself on the back and say hey! look at me. To pray loudly in the square so that others might hear and recognize it's religiousity.
It has not learned that COMPASSION IS DESIRED ABOVE SACRIFICE!
The Carnal man can do good, as defined by this world, but he cannot work up, create, develop, have it trained into him, preached to him, told to him -what Compassion is.
Only the living resurrected Jesus Christ can produce in us what was in Him.
He said, I do the works that I see my Father do.
Where is our dependency, is it on our sacrifice, our getting out of bed on Sunday, to make it to the building and then the rest of the week, after that single sacrifice we go back out living and acting just like the rest of the world. No regard for the hurting, the lost, the dying, the broken of this world. We have stuffed ourselves to the point of gorging ourselves into fat, lazy carnal men, with our religiousity. We have not been broken, and made contrite over our sin - our lack of compassion.
We have fed ourselves, clothed ourselves, washed ourselves, and then went home and forgot our first love. We have become very white washed, but inside- YUK!
For we love because He first loved us. He died for us, while we were yet sinners!
We were the unchurched, the drunkard, the abuser, the addict, the greedy, the liar and the tax collector, the thief. Inside each of us, dwells that same old flesh man, just waiting to jump up anytime out of the grave and show you for what you are. Anytime, he can raise his ugly head.
We disguise it with our denominational obedience and external definitions of what we think it means to be a Christian, we disquise it with do's and don't's and works righteousness. We disguise it with our activites in the building, our associatons with the other members. While outside the very external walls built by men and not by God, that you worship so much, there are thousands just like you, dying.
You are dead man's bones, that only as an Ezekiel that God can put the breath of life into. They are dead man's bones, that only those who understand Christ in you, the hope of glory can bring the message of life to. We need Christ, we need Him to fill us with his compassion.
Where is compassion? When have we been so full of Jesus, that we are drawn to gravitate toward those who hold a much lower position in life than we. When do we, feel broken and convicted by these words of Jesus, "I desire Compassion and not Sacrifice."
When will we ,as the EKKLESIA realize that all these external things draw us away from the very one, that can give us life that will be as a well spring of life to those around us?
A well spring of life within us.
When will we see, that all the religous practices and external obedience is nothing more than a detraction from the command of God? To be full of compassion.
Satan uses and devises every method possible to re-direct your worship as a believer.
Yes, he even uses the physical church, your church, my church and any church.
When we are so caught up in the external things of this world, we have lost our first love.
Only God can give the Spirit of Compassion, for He is the Spirit of all life.
Unless our dependency is upon Him, we have missed the joy of the Lord and our purpose in Christ. Unless it is He that is producing the works of righteousness then it is as filthy rags before the Lord.
All the sacrifice, all the works, and all your activities are mere wood, hay and stubble. They will melt down in the face of the presence of a Holy God who is COMPASSION- true love, real love, genuine love, the only example of love.
Here is Jesus, doing the worse thing possible to ever say He was religious, he has taken in a tax collector, he is sitting down and eating a meal, with the homeless on your street, the prostitutes, next door, the drug addicts that you prefer to lock up, rather than free up, the wife beaters, the abusers, the thiefs, the dredges of society and eating with them no less!
"How shameful,".. I can hear the religious gossiping now.
I really wonder, if Jesus would be allowed in to the physical church, seeing the crowd he hangs out with.
I wonder how many people would move a pews back to let him have front row seating for his friends, I wonder how many Pastors, would step off the podium and let Him come up and speak.
Have we been missing something in our interpretations of God's word?
Have we not been listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit?
Will we listen, or will we just keep on accusing Him, as they did?
Will we see the real Jesus, the real compassion or just go on playing church.
The Pharisees knew that game very well, and could even teach a few church members a few things or two.
The question is, will we grow tired of the lack of compassion in our own lives soon, or will we just keep on hanging with the religious crowd? While the world outside is sick and in need of a physician. We are the arms and legs of the Lord, when we are His. Are we reaching to build our own kingdom, or His? Do we have a broken and contrite spirit which only the Lord can heal and then work through us to heal the broken outside.
I pray for myself tonight as I end this to head for my bed, which there are probably plenty of people tonight whose only bed is a cold hard concrete one, under some viaduct somewhere, Lord fill me up with you so much that I too will have compassion. The Gospel preached without the living God as our Compassion is nothing but words, and words are a dime a dozen. Father, give me compassion, make me compassionate, break my heart for the lost, break my heart for the poor, for those in the yoke of bondage of sin - for Lord you have shown me, this is the fast that you desire of your people. This is the call of the EKKLESIA- God's Church, His dwelling place, in His people. Make me, and mold me, into COMPASSION, by your will. Let it be, Christ in me, the hope of glory.
COMPASSION IS DESIRED ABOVE SACRIFICE!
Dr. J.
The crux of the teachings found there are about how we rather than allowing scripture to interpret scripture we have allowed men and his ideas and interpretations to do the interpreting of scripture instead of the Holy Spirit and the Word itself.
How true that is.
I want to share a little something that might help you understand better, what the writers there are saying. Tony Warren is one of my favorite to read. He has a wonderful gift of rightly dividing the Word of Truth.
For example, today in my quiet time, my prayer time, I opened up my Bible and was reading Proverbs Chapter 21:2-3 - Every man's way is right in his own eyes, But the Lord weighs the hearts. To do righteousness and justice is desired by the Lord rather than sacrifice.
I read that and meditated some on it. What does it mean for me as a believer?
I then, knowing this was the Old Covenant- the shadow- the typology of all the Old Testament is found in Christ, I went over to Matthew and begin to read. There must have been God's hand and direction in it, because I opened up to Matthew 9 and begin to read, and what did I come across but the Saviour interpreting the Old for the New.
The substance giving definition to the Shadow.
What does it mean to men, righteousness and justice?
In the flesh, the external, men could come up with many self interpretations from the Old.
But there was Jesus, giving the words life, and defining this justice and righteousness of God in verse 9.
But go and learn what this means, I desire compassion, and not sacrifice, for I did not come to call the righteous but the sinners.
Jesus here defines the Old into the New and leaves nothing open for us to define with our fleshly minds or opinions. God defines His word for us, if we but seek Him and not men for the interpretation.
The Holy Spirit was given to us, to guide us into all truth.
Scriptural truth.
I went back to the chapter, book and verse in Proverbs, just wondering in my reference Bible if this passage would have a foot note referencing Christ words on the matter in Matthew I had found, but found only another Old Testament reference.
I Samuel 15:22 -
And Samuel said, Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.
Once again, if we left this verse and teaching alone with no words from Jesus, man can take this and make it into a thousand different externals for you to live by, and call it obedience.
Religion does just that.
Then there is Hosea 6:6
For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
As we approach the New Testament, we have the book of Hosea near the end of the Old, where once again we see God declares what is better than sacrifice.
So now we have 3 Old Testament scriptures, which is all the Jews had before Christ spoke.
What did they do with these scriptures but throw interpretations of them into mens' ideals.
For the Pharisees, who greatly respected the writings of the Sages and the Tannah who defined these things in the Gemara, the Mishna, which became the Talmud, it meant everything but what God meant it to be.
It placed them onto a pedestal above the people, they stood out in their robes and religious garb, one could not pass near by without their religiousity hanging all over them.
They had their phalacteries, their robes, the Old Testament scrolls, and more to say to the world, "look at me, I am a church member, I am religious, I am clean, I am well".
The Pharisees loved to pray out loud for all to hear, bringing attention to themselves in the marketplaces.
Jesus throws open the doors of understanding of these 3 scriptures in His life example, giving the Word spirit, which brings life.
The letter of the law kills. It killed and kills even today. People are dying within the church and outside of the church because of the letter of the law, all those externals we so desperately grasp at other than Jesus.
Jesus declares the three commands into one - Loyalty, righteousness and justice and obedience all fall into one word, that only the life of Christ can produce in the believer - COMPASSION!
We as men, can devise methods, dogmas, and doctrines of law, to say one is obedient, loyal, righteous and just. We can even call men these things based on the criterian of the Old Testament instead of the New. We can do this based on our church doctrines, our denominational statements, our creeds and our fleshly wisdom but only Jesus can bring the interpretation of what God has always sought for in His people. Only now through Christ and the Holy Spirit can we now have revealed to us the interpretation of the Old. Now that the Holy Spirit has been given to guide us into all truth.
Scripture upon scripture, line upon line, precept upon precept of His Word , can we learn His desire (will) for our lives.
It is only here that for the first time, God dwelling with men, can it be made clear the meaning of the Old. It is only here, that the Spirit can speak, and when He does, men and their ways, their interpretations of Holy Scripture are broken down into little pieces and shards of their vain imaginations are silenced.
Man loses his ability to be in his own nature what God only can provide in the new birth of the Spiritual man.
Man is born carnal and will die carnal, if God never intervenes. God intervenes and calls a man, and gives him the new birth in Christ.
With that new birth though, we still have the old fleshly mind hanging around and without studying God's word and listening to the Holy Spirit, we remain carnal in our thoughts and do not have the mind of Christ. We remain without transformation of mind and heart, until we hear from Him who is the knowledge of God, Jesus Christ, Lord of lords and King of Kings.
Let us hear from the Lord, let us know all the scripture and not those we like to pick and choose from to fit into our own little carnal boxes. Let us let scripture interpret scripture as it does here.
We may have sympathy for others, we may even do good for others, but how often does it reach to the extent of the Saviour, that it goes beyond doing for those that we know, the crowd we hang with, the church members we pal around with, and reaches into the depths and mire of lost humanity to provide - compassion.
The compassion of Christ, who dared religion, dared it's religious leaders by doing all that was opposite of what they had defined as obedience, loyalty, righteousness and justice.
They were so far off the beaten path it was sorrowful.
It was the broad road to destruction that seems right to a "man", these Pharisees teachings and practices, these religious leaders of the time. How far oh! religious leaders have you swayed from the path of Jesus in all that you have called obedience, loyalty, righteous and just.
You missed it as clearly as they have.
You forgot - COMPASSION is what the Lord desires. COMPASSION is what only the Holy Spirit can produce within you. It is that compassion that lead Jesus to the sinners and not the religious. It is that compassion that led the people to Jesus.
It is that compassion that put him where no religious man dare tread. It was compassion that drew the crowds from the religious leaders to hear the Man of Compassion - Jesus Christ. It is compassion that drives some to minister too those that others would not speak to, nor associate with, or be seen dead with.
It is the Spirit of Christ that produces the living Christ within, that reaches out not in condemnation of the loss but in search of the loss to give them living hope and life.
It is compassion that the organizational church lacks today. It is the loss of all that matters, the Spirit of Christ within the body of Christ.
The church as Laodicea has lost it's first love. It has fallen from it's calling. That calling is to love the unlovable, as we are loved. We must not forget, but for Jesus, there goes I. There I am, right there in that man, lying on a corner street, fallen down drunk, with vomit upon his clothes. That is me! That is everything I am -without Christ.
Once again Jesus proved He was counter cultural. He was the radical revolutionary of all time. He didnt come to bring us more of what they already had plenty of - religion, He came to give us life! For He is life.
He worked on the Sabbath
He chose under -qualified disciples
He didn’t seek to be honored
He often was in the midst of undesirables
He was at constant full steam ahead in opposition to those who thought they were well - the religious.
Psalm 85:10 For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.
Jesus shows us that truth and mercy always go hand in hand.
The Church has developed not unlike the Pharisees, into "catering to the well ".
· We have developed systems that take incredible care of the people.. in the church
· We are so good at taking care of the spiritually well that we are making them spiritually obese
· If Christ came for the sick and the sinners then why do we spend so much time with the well and the those who say they are righteous?
· The answer is because it is easier
The flesh finds it much easier to hide within our Ivory Towers of the Church building then it is to be that building which Christ seeks to build made of His people, the broken, the sinner, the lost.
It is not that the institution has not reached out and done some good, but often it has done it as an act of sacrifice, to gain the attention of the masses of the religious. To pat itself on the back and say hey! look at me. To pray loudly in the square so that others might hear and recognize it's religiousity.
It has not learned that COMPASSION IS DESIRED ABOVE SACRIFICE!
The Carnal man can do good, as defined by this world, but he cannot work up, create, develop, have it trained into him, preached to him, told to him -what Compassion is.
Only the living resurrected Jesus Christ can produce in us what was in Him.
He said, I do the works that I see my Father do.
Where is our dependency, is it on our sacrifice, our getting out of bed on Sunday, to make it to the building and then the rest of the week, after that single sacrifice we go back out living and acting just like the rest of the world. No regard for the hurting, the lost, the dying, the broken of this world. We have stuffed ourselves to the point of gorging ourselves into fat, lazy carnal men, with our religiousity. We have not been broken, and made contrite over our sin - our lack of compassion.
We have fed ourselves, clothed ourselves, washed ourselves, and then went home and forgot our first love. We have become very white washed, but inside- YUK!
For we love because He first loved us. He died for us, while we were yet sinners!
We were the unchurched, the drunkard, the abuser, the addict, the greedy, the liar and the tax collector, the thief. Inside each of us, dwells that same old flesh man, just waiting to jump up anytime out of the grave and show you for what you are. Anytime, he can raise his ugly head.
We disguise it with our denominational obedience and external definitions of what we think it means to be a Christian, we disquise it with do's and don't's and works righteousness. We disguise it with our activites in the building, our associatons with the other members. While outside the very external walls built by men and not by God, that you worship so much, there are thousands just like you, dying.
You are dead man's bones, that only as an Ezekiel that God can put the breath of life into. They are dead man's bones, that only those who understand Christ in you, the hope of glory can bring the message of life to. We need Christ, we need Him to fill us with his compassion.
Where is compassion? When have we been so full of Jesus, that we are drawn to gravitate toward those who hold a much lower position in life than we. When do we, feel broken and convicted by these words of Jesus, "I desire Compassion and not Sacrifice."
When will we ,as the EKKLESIA realize that all these external things draw us away from the very one, that can give us life that will be as a well spring of life to those around us?
A well spring of life within us.
When will we see, that all the religous practices and external obedience is nothing more than a detraction from the command of God? To be full of compassion.
Satan uses and devises every method possible to re-direct your worship as a believer.
Yes, he even uses the physical church, your church, my church and any church.
When we are so caught up in the external things of this world, we have lost our first love.
Only God can give the Spirit of Compassion, for He is the Spirit of all life.
Unless our dependency is upon Him, we have missed the joy of the Lord and our purpose in Christ. Unless it is He that is producing the works of righteousness then it is as filthy rags before the Lord.
All the sacrifice, all the works, and all your activities are mere wood, hay and stubble. They will melt down in the face of the presence of a Holy God who is COMPASSION- true love, real love, genuine love, the only example of love.
Here is Jesus, doing the worse thing possible to ever say He was religious, he has taken in a tax collector, he is sitting down and eating a meal, with the homeless on your street, the prostitutes, next door, the drug addicts that you prefer to lock up, rather than free up, the wife beaters, the abusers, the thiefs, the dredges of society and eating with them no less!
"How shameful,".. I can hear the religious gossiping now.
I really wonder, if Jesus would be allowed in to the physical church, seeing the crowd he hangs out with.
I wonder how many people would move a pews back to let him have front row seating for his friends, I wonder how many Pastors, would step off the podium and let Him come up and speak.
Have we been missing something in our interpretations of God's word?
Have we not been listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit?
Will we listen, or will we just keep on accusing Him, as they did?
Will we see the real Jesus, the real compassion or just go on playing church.
The Pharisees knew that game very well, and could even teach a few church members a few things or two.
The question is, will we grow tired of the lack of compassion in our own lives soon, or will we just keep on hanging with the religious crowd? While the world outside is sick and in need of a physician. We are the arms and legs of the Lord, when we are His. Are we reaching to build our own kingdom, or His? Do we have a broken and contrite spirit which only the Lord can heal and then work through us to heal the broken outside.
I pray for myself tonight as I end this to head for my bed, which there are probably plenty of people tonight whose only bed is a cold hard concrete one, under some viaduct somewhere, Lord fill me up with you so much that I too will have compassion. The Gospel preached without the living God as our Compassion is nothing but words, and words are a dime a dozen. Father, give me compassion, make me compassionate, break my heart for the lost, break my heart for the poor, for those in the yoke of bondage of sin - for Lord you have shown me, this is the fast that you desire of your people. This is the call of the EKKLESIA- God's Church, His dwelling place, in His people. Make me, and mold me, into COMPASSION, by your will. Let it be, Christ in me, the hope of glory.
COMPASSION IS DESIRED ABOVE SACRIFICE!
Dr. J.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
The Cost of Illegal Aliens To The Taxpayer
I had someone forward this to me the other day. I had to reprint it here. If we want Homeland Security let's start here. If we want to pay less taxes, lets' start here!
I did not verify all the links, but the few I did that didn't work, you can search that page references main URL and find the information you are looking for. For example I couldnt get the first CNN link to work so in my search I found this -
http://www.newswithviews.com/Wooldridge/frosty2.htm
So, with a little research on the Internet, you will find the statistics mentioned here one way or another. It is flabbergasting, to have let this go on for so long, and now Congress and the President, go whoops! Wake up how long have most of these idiots been in office. The cartoon says it all on the right. They are fat, overstuffed, heathen, money sucking politictians, and as long as we pay income tax they will continue to be so. They are asleep at the wheel, and we just keep paying them to sleep. Siesta Time should end for Uncle Sam and the American people need to wake him up and tell him - He's fired! We will, the people will, handle things themselves. The Minute Men have tried to help, but then Bush has the audacity to call them Vigilantes. Yes, they are vigilante and a whole lot more than our politicians and most of the American people, who just sit on their tuffs and let this go on.
I hope these 14 reasons are forwarded over and over again until they are read by the majority of Americans. Then they will have something to yell at their U.S. Congress members and the President about!
1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year.
http://tinyurl.com/zob77
2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens.
http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens.
http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school
education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of
English! http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.0.html
5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born
children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for
Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers.
http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html
9. $200 Billion Dollars a year in suppressed American wages are
caused by the illegal aliens.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two
and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their
children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.html
11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens
that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroine and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border.
Homeland Security Report: http://tinyurl.com/t9sht
12. The National Policy Institute, "estimated that the total cost of mass
deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost
of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period."
http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.pdf
13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances back to
their countries of origin. http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm
14. "The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One Million Sex Crimes
Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States ".
http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml
So using the LOWEST estimates, the annual cost OF ILLEGAL
ALIENS is $338.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR! So if deporting
them costs between $206 and $230 BILLION DOLLARS,
Doesn't that make fiscal sense to deport them all back over the border.
We will have helped the National budget and reduced our income taxes.
Americans need to wake up !
When it comes time to vote remember which politicians support the illegal aliens , and taxes and let's keep them out of office. . . . perhaps we deport them across the border too. They sure aren't American when they can allow this to go on.
Dr. J.
I did not verify all the links, but the few I did that didn't work, you can search that page references main URL and find the information you are looking for. For example I couldnt get the first CNN link to work so in my search I found this -
http://www.newswithviews.com/Wooldridge/frosty2.htm
So, with a little research on the Internet, you will find the statistics mentioned here one way or another. It is flabbergasting, to have let this go on for so long, and now Congress and the President, go whoops! Wake up how long have most of these idiots been in office. The cartoon says it all on the right. They are fat, overstuffed, heathen, money sucking politictians, and as long as we pay income tax they will continue to be so. They are asleep at the wheel, and we just keep paying them to sleep. Siesta Time should end for Uncle Sam and the American people need to wake him up and tell him - He's fired! We will, the people will, handle things themselves. The Minute Men have tried to help, but then Bush has the audacity to call them Vigilantes. Yes, they are vigilante and a whole lot more than our politicians and most of the American people, who just sit on their tuffs and let this go on.
I hope these 14 reasons are forwarded over and over again until they are read by the majority of Americans. Then they will have something to yell at their U.S. Congress members and the President about!
1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year.
http://tinyurl.com/zob77
2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens.
http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens.
http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.html
4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school
education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of
English! http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.0.html
5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born
children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for
Welfare & social services by the American taxpayers.
http://premium.cnn.com/TRANSCIPTS/0610/29/ldt.01.html
9. $200 Billion Dollars a year in suppressed American wages are
caused by the illegal aliens.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/01/ldt.01.html
10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two
and a half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their
children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0606/12/ldt.01.html
11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens
that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroine and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border.
Homeland Security Report: http://tinyurl.com/t9sht
12. The National Policy Institute, "estimated that the total cost of mass
deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost
of between $41 and $46 billion annually over a five year period."
http://www.nationalpolicyinstitute.org/pdf/deportation.pdf
13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances back to
their countries of origin. http://www.rense.com/general75/niht.htm
14. "The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One Million Sex Crimes
Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States ".
http://www.drdsk.com/articleshtml
So using the LOWEST estimates, the annual cost OF ILLEGAL
ALIENS is $338.3 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR! So if deporting
them costs between $206 and $230 BILLION DOLLARS,
Doesn't that make fiscal sense to deport them all back over the border.
We will have helped the National budget and reduced our income taxes.
Americans need to wake up !
When it comes time to vote remember which politicians support the illegal aliens , and taxes and let's keep them out of office. . . . perhaps we deport them across the border too. They sure aren't American when they can allow this to go on.
Dr. J.
Friday, August 10, 2007
The Organization of the Early Christian Churches
The Organization of the Early Christian Churches
by Edwin Hatch
(London, 1887, pp. 44-45, 72-77, 100-103, 105, 116-123, 125,127)
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There Was No 'Clergy/Laity' Distinction in the Early Church
It will be convenient to take in detail the several functions which in later times were regarded as the special and peculiar functions of Church officers, and to inquire how far they were regarded as special and peculiar functions in the first two centuries.
In regard to the function of teaching or preaching, it is clear from both the Acts of the Apostles and Paul's epistles that 'liberty of prophesying' prevailed in the Apostolic age. It is equally clear that liberty of prophesying existed after the Apostolic age ...
In regard to baptism there is no positive evidence, but there is the argument a fortiori which arises from the fact that even in later times, when the tendency had become strong to restrict the performance of ecclesiastical functions to Church officers, baptism by an ordinary member of the Church was held to be valid, although if an officer might have been found it was held to be contrary to Church order ...
In regard to the [Lord's Supper], the only explicit evidence is that of the Ignatian Epistles ...It is clear from them that the Christians of the cities to which they were addressed had held other meetings beside those at which the officers were present. In these meetings the bread had been broken and the Eucharist celebrated. The practice is reproved, but the reproof is a gentle one. ...It appears from this that the celebration of the Eucharist without the presence of a Church officer was not of itself invalid. It is inconceivable that anyone who held that the presence and action of a Church officer are essential to the valid celebration of the Eucharist, which has been ordinarily held in later times, would have used the language of mild remonstrance....
In regard to the exercise of discipline, the earliest evidence is that of First Corinthians. In it Paul addresses the whole community, and urges them to meet together and exercise the power of expulsion in the case of one who was guilty of open sin....
Whether therefore we look at preaching, at baptism, at the Eucharist or at discipline, it seems probable that the officers were not conceived as having, as such, exclusive powers. In other words, the existing evidence in regard to the functions of Church officers, so far from establishing, tends to disprove the existence of any conception of the nature of their office, than that which is gathered from the terms which were in use to designate such office....
Such a conclusion may appear strange when viewed by the light of later times, but it is not strange if it is viewed in relation to the circumstances of the first two centuries. In those early days the mere membership in a Christian Church was in itself a strong presumption of the possession of high spiritual qualifications - before the doors of admission were thrown wide open, before children were ordinarily baptized and men grew up from their earliest years as members of a Christian society, before Christianity had become a fashionable religion and gathered into its net 'of every kind' both good and bad.
Then the Christian was indeed a 'member of Christ', a 'king and priest unto God'. The whole body of Christians was upon a level: 'you are all brethren'. The distinctions Paul makes between Christians are based not upon office, but upon varieties of spiritual power... There was a vivid sense, which in later times was necessarily weakened, that every form of the manifestation of the religious life is a gift of God - a charisma, or direct operation of the Divine Spirit upon the soul...
Now, while this sense of the diffusion of spiritual gifts was so vivid, it was impossible that there should be the same sense of distinction between officers and non-officers which afterwards came to exist. Organization was a less important fact than it afterwards became... The officers who had the control of order and administration came inevitably to have a higher relative status than they had before. There were not only disputes, as we learn from Clement of Rome, about the appointment of officers, but also an exaggeration of the place of order in the Christian economy. The gift of ruling, like Aaron's rod, seemed to swallow up the other gifts.
Then came a profound reaction. Against the growing tendency towards that state of things which afterwards firmly established itself, and which ever since has been the normal state of almost all Christian Churches, some communities, first of Asia Minor, then of Africa, then of Italy, raised a vigorous and, for a time, a successful protest. They reasserted the place of spiritual gifts as contrasted with official rule. They maintained that the revelation of Christ through the Spirit was not a temporary phenomenon of Apostolic days, but a constant fact of Christian life. They combined with this the preaching of a higher morality than that which was tending to become current. They were supported in what they did by the greatest theologian of his time [Tertullian] ... In theological as in other wars the tendency is to cry, 'Vae victis!', and to assume that the defeated are always in the wrong. But a careful survey of the evidence leads to the conclusion that, in its view of the relation of ecclesiastical office to the Christian life, the Montanism, as it was called, which Tertullian defended, was theoretically in the right, though its theory had become in practice impossible. ...It was a beating of the wings of pietism against the iron bars of organization. It was the first, though not the last, rebellion of the religious sentiment against official religion...
But although the original conception of ecclesiastical office ultimately passed away, it passed away only by slow degrees. Little by little those members of the Christian Churches who did not hold office were excluded from the performance of almost all ecclesiastical functions. At first a layman might not preach if a bishop were present, then not if any Church officer was present, and finally not at all...
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Priesthood of Believers Replaced by Primacy of Bishop
[There}were the strangers who passed in constant stream through the cities of all the great routes of commerce in both East and West. Everyone of those strangers who bore the Christian name had therein a claim to hospitality. For Christianity was a great fraternity, and grew because it was a loving brotherhood. The name 'brother', by which a Jew addressed his fellow-Jew, came to be the ordinary designation by which a Christian addressed his fellow-Christian. It vividly expressed a real fact. For driven from city to city by persecution, or wandering from country to country an outcast or a refugee, a Christian found wherever he went a welcome and hospitality in the community of his fellow-Christians. The practice of hospitality was enjoined as the common virtue of all Christians, and in the New Testament stress is laid upon it by Paul, Peter and John.
But it was a special virtue of the episcopos [bishop]. It was for him not so much a merit as a duty. Traveling brethren, no less than the poor of his community, were entitled to a share in the distribution of the Church funds. It is natural to find that such a system was abused... Even in Apostolic days there were 'false brethren', and later on the Apostolical Canons say in reference to the practice that 'many things are done in a spirit of plunder'. But the abuses increased the responsibility and the importance of the bishop...
Hardly had the organization of the Christian communities begun before Paul looked upon it as an intolerable scandal that 'brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers'. He depreciates litigation of any kind. The Christian rule was a rule not of litigation, but of forgiveness. But if litigation became inevitable he asks indignantly, 'Dare any of you having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust and not before the saints?' In those early days it may have been the case that the assembly itself, or persons chosen by the assembly, acted as arbitrators, and to this Paul's words point: 'If then you have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the Church'. But when the organization of the churches was more complete it is clear that the jurisdiction belonged to the council of presbyters. 'Let not those who have disputes', say the Clementines, 'go to law before the civil powers, but let them by all means be reconciled by the elders of the Church, and let them readily yield to their decision'...
[The mutual care] which had been possible in a small community became impossible in the larger situation... The transition of any community from a state of repression [under cycles of persecution] to a state of supremacy [under Constantine] tends to change the character of the offenses of which it takes cognizance. It accentuates the organization. It elevates the by-laws to a new prominence. It makes offense against those by-laws important. And we have but to compare the early monument which is known as the Constitutions of Clement with the post-Constantinian code which is known as the Apostolical Canons to see how wide was the chasm which in the Christian Church severed the ethics of the age of struggle from the age of supremacy...
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Protection of the Church by the State Caused Great Confusion
The recognition of Christianity by the State tended to narrow the broad borderline between the Church and the world. The fact that the Christians were no longer a paroikia, a colony of strangers in a strange land, that the local judges were Christian, and that the emperors who were the ultimate court of appeal were also Christian, diminished the force of the reason for submitting disputes 'in things pertaining to this life' to the Church officers. The consensual jurisdiction of the Church courts came to be limited to disputes in which Church officers were themselves concerned. That jurisdiction was recognized by the State, but it was viewed with a jealous eye. Out of it grew that long line of contests between State and Church with which many of us are familiar - the Church constantly claiming and the State constantly endeavoring to limit this ecclesiastical and consensual jurisdiction.
Inside these contests was another struggle - the struggle on the part of the bishops to act as sole judges, without the consilium of presbyter, of which in early times they had been merely the presidents..... What powers, if any, were possessed by a single presbyter acting alone there is no evidence to show. But by one of those slow and silent revolutions which the lapse of many centuries brings about in political as well as in religious communities, the ancient conception of the office, as essentially disciplinary and collegiate, has been superseded by a conception of it in which not only is a single presbyter competent to discharge all a presbyter's functions, but in which also those functions are primarily not those of discipline but 'the ministration of the Word and Sacraments'...
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The Supremacy of the Bishop
The supremacy of a single officer which was thus forced upon the Churches by the necessity for unity of doctrine, was consolidated by the necessity for unity in discipline... Early in the third century rose the question of readmission to membership of those who had fallen into grievous sin, or who had shrunk from martyrdom. For many years there had been comparative peace. In those years the gates of the Church had been opened wider than before. The sterner discipline had been relaxed. Christianity was not illegal and was tending to become fashionable. The fashionable church-goers accepted the easy terms which the State offered to those who were willing to acknowledge the State religion. Suddenly the flames of persecution shot fiercely forth again. The teachers of Christianity defended those who 'lapsed' on the theological ground that Christ did not call on all men to be partakers of His sufferings in the flesh. When the persecution was over many of the 'lapsed' wished to come back again...
In the earlier days each separate case came for judgment before the whole Church. The certificate of a confessor was of the nature of an appeal which the Church might upon occasion reject. But persecution sometimes rendered it impossible for the Church to be gathered together. The Church officers took it upon themselves to act for the general body. They readmitted the lapsed without consulting the assembly. That which had begun in a time of emergency tended to become a rule in a time of peace... The pure spouse of Christ was in peril of her virginity. The Churches for which some of them had sacrificed all they had were beginning to be filled with weak brethren who had preferred dishonor to death... There was a long and determined controversy... It was agreed on all sides that readmissions just not be indiscriminate. If the earlier usage of submitting each case to the tribunal of the whole assembly were impossible, at any rate individual presbyters and deacons must not act without the knowledge and approval of the president. This rule was in many cases resisted... but it ultimately became so general that the bishops came to claim the right of readmitting penitents, not in their capacity as presidents of the community but as an inherent function of the episcopate...
It was a natural effect of the same causes, and it forms an additional proof of their existence, that a rule should grow up that there should be only one bishop in a community. This rule was not firmly established until the third century. Its general recognition was the outcome of the dispute between Cyprian and Novatian. That dispute was one of the collateral results of the controversy... in reference to readmission of the lapsed...
The controversy was keen, but in the end the views of Cyprian prevailed. The necessity for unity outweighed all other considerations. Henceforth, whoever in any city claimed to be a member of the Christian Church must belong to the established organization of that city. The seamless coat of Christ must not be rent. As there was one God, and on Christ, and on Holy Spirit, so there could be but one bishop. *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Editor's note - Cf. Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels (Vintage Books, 1981), 'One God, One Bishop': The Politics of Monotheism,' pp. 33-56. 'When the orthodox insisted upon 'one God', they simultaneously validated the system of governance in which the church is ruled by 'one bishop''.. [Clement's] letter marks a dramatic moment in the history of Christianity. For the first time, we find here an argument for dividing the Christian community between 'the clergy' and 'the laity'. The church is to be organized in terms of a strict order of superiors and subordinates... But Ignatius went further than Clement... [He] warns 'the laity' to revere, honor, and obey the bishop 'as if he were God'
by Edwin Hatch
(London, 1887, pp. 44-45, 72-77, 100-103, 105, 116-123, 125,127)
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There Was No 'Clergy/Laity' Distinction in the Early Church
It will be convenient to take in detail the several functions which in later times were regarded as the special and peculiar functions of Church officers, and to inquire how far they were regarded as special and peculiar functions in the first two centuries.
In regard to the function of teaching or preaching, it is clear from both the Acts of the Apostles and Paul's epistles that 'liberty of prophesying' prevailed in the Apostolic age. It is equally clear that liberty of prophesying existed after the Apostolic age ...
In regard to baptism there is no positive evidence, but there is the argument a fortiori which arises from the fact that even in later times, when the tendency had become strong to restrict the performance of ecclesiastical functions to Church officers, baptism by an ordinary member of the Church was held to be valid, although if an officer might have been found it was held to be contrary to Church order ...
In regard to the [Lord's Supper], the only explicit evidence is that of the Ignatian Epistles ...It is clear from them that the Christians of the cities to which they were addressed had held other meetings beside those at which the officers were present. In these meetings the bread had been broken and the Eucharist celebrated. The practice is reproved, but the reproof is a gentle one. ...It appears from this that the celebration of the Eucharist without the presence of a Church officer was not of itself invalid. It is inconceivable that anyone who held that the presence and action of a Church officer are essential to the valid celebration of the Eucharist, which has been ordinarily held in later times, would have used the language of mild remonstrance....
In regard to the exercise of discipline, the earliest evidence is that of First Corinthians. In it Paul addresses the whole community, and urges them to meet together and exercise the power of expulsion in the case of one who was guilty of open sin....
Whether therefore we look at preaching, at baptism, at the Eucharist or at discipline, it seems probable that the officers were not conceived as having, as such, exclusive powers. In other words, the existing evidence in regard to the functions of Church officers, so far from establishing, tends to disprove the existence of any conception of the nature of their office, than that which is gathered from the terms which were in use to designate such office....
Such a conclusion may appear strange when viewed by the light of later times, but it is not strange if it is viewed in relation to the circumstances of the first two centuries. In those early days the mere membership in a Christian Church was in itself a strong presumption of the possession of high spiritual qualifications - before the doors of admission were thrown wide open, before children were ordinarily baptized and men grew up from their earliest years as members of a Christian society, before Christianity had become a fashionable religion and gathered into its net 'of every kind' both good and bad.
Then the Christian was indeed a 'member of Christ', a 'king and priest unto God'. The whole body of Christians was upon a level: 'you are all brethren'. The distinctions Paul makes between Christians are based not upon office, but upon varieties of spiritual power... There was a vivid sense, which in later times was necessarily weakened, that every form of the manifestation of the religious life is a gift of God - a charisma, or direct operation of the Divine Spirit upon the soul...
Now, while this sense of the diffusion of spiritual gifts was so vivid, it was impossible that there should be the same sense of distinction between officers and non-officers which afterwards came to exist. Organization was a less important fact than it afterwards became... The officers who had the control of order and administration came inevitably to have a higher relative status than they had before. There were not only disputes, as we learn from Clement of Rome, about the appointment of officers, but also an exaggeration of the place of order in the Christian economy. The gift of ruling, like Aaron's rod, seemed to swallow up the other gifts.
Then came a profound reaction. Against the growing tendency towards that state of things which afterwards firmly established itself, and which ever since has been the normal state of almost all Christian Churches, some communities, first of Asia Minor, then of Africa, then of Italy, raised a vigorous and, for a time, a successful protest. They reasserted the place of spiritual gifts as contrasted with official rule. They maintained that the revelation of Christ through the Spirit was not a temporary phenomenon of Apostolic days, but a constant fact of Christian life. They combined with this the preaching of a higher morality than that which was tending to become current. They were supported in what they did by the greatest theologian of his time [Tertullian] ... In theological as in other wars the tendency is to cry, 'Vae victis!', and to assume that the defeated are always in the wrong. But a careful survey of the evidence leads to the conclusion that, in its view of the relation of ecclesiastical office to the Christian life, the Montanism, as it was called, which Tertullian defended, was theoretically in the right, though its theory had become in practice impossible. ...It was a beating of the wings of pietism against the iron bars of organization. It was the first, though not the last, rebellion of the religious sentiment against official religion...
But although the original conception of ecclesiastical office ultimately passed away, it passed away only by slow degrees. Little by little those members of the Christian Churches who did not hold office were excluded from the performance of almost all ecclesiastical functions. At first a layman might not preach if a bishop were present, then not if any Church officer was present, and finally not at all...
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Priesthood of Believers Replaced by Primacy of Bishop
[There}were the strangers who passed in constant stream through the cities of all the great routes of commerce in both East and West. Everyone of those strangers who bore the Christian name had therein a claim to hospitality. For Christianity was a great fraternity, and grew because it was a loving brotherhood. The name 'brother', by which a Jew addressed his fellow-Jew, came to be the ordinary designation by which a Christian addressed his fellow-Christian. It vividly expressed a real fact. For driven from city to city by persecution, or wandering from country to country an outcast or a refugee, a Christian found wherever he went a welcome and hospitality in the community of his fellow-Christians. The practice of hospitality was enjoined as the common virtue of all Christians, and in the New Testament stress is laid upon it by Paul, Peter and John.
But it was a special virtue of the episcopos [bishop]. It was for him not so much a merit as a duty. Traveling brethren, no less than the poor of his community, were entitled to a share in the distribution of the Church funds. It is natural to find that such a system was abused... Even in Apostolic days there were 'false brethren', and later on the Apostolical Canons say in reference to the practice that 'many things are done in a spirit of plunder'. But the abuses increased the responsibility and the importance of the bishop...
Hardly had the organization of the Christian communities begun before Paul looked upon it as an intolerable scandal that 'brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers'. He depreciates litigation of any kind. The Christian rule was a rule not of litigation, but of forgiveness. But if litigation became inevitable he asks indignantly, 'Dare any of you having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust and not before the saints?' In those early days it may have been the case that the assembly itself, or persons chosen by the assembly, acted as arbitrators, and to this Paul's words point: 'If then you have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the Church'. But when the organization of the churches was more complete it is clear that the jurisdiction belonged to the council of presbyters. 'Let not those who have disputes', say the Clementines, 'go to law before the civil powers, but let them by all means be reconciled by the elders of the Church, and let them readily yield to their decision'...
[The mutual care] which had been possible in a small community became impossible in the larger situation... The transition of any community from a state of repression [under cycles of persecution] to a state of supremacy [under Constantine] tends to change the character of the offenses of which it takes cognizance. It accentuates the organization. It elevates the by-laws to a new prominence. It makes offense against those by-laws important. And we have but to compare the early monument which is known as the Constitutions of Clement with the post-Constantinian code which is known as the Apostolical Canons to see how wide was the chasm which in the Christian Church severed the ethics of the age of struggle from the age of supremacy...
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Protection of the Church by the State Caused Great Confusion
The recognition of Christianity by the State tended to narrow the broad borderline between the Church and the world. The fact that the Christians were no longer a paroikia, a colony of strangers in a strange land, that the local judges were Christian, and that the emperors who were the ultimate court of appeal were also Christian, diminished the force of the reason for submitting disputes 'in things pertaining to this life' to the Church officers. The consensual jurisdiction of the Church courts came to be limited to disputes in which Church officers were themselves concerned. That jurisdiction was recognized by the State, but it was viewed with a jealous eye. Out of it grew that long line of contests between State and Church with which many of us are familiar - the Church constantly claiming and the State constantly endeavoring to limit this ecclesiastical and consensual jurisdiction.
Inside these contests was another struggle - the struggle on the part of the bishops to act as sole judges, without the consilium of presbyter, of which in early times they had been merely the presidents..... What powers, if any, were possessed by a single presbyter acting alone there is no evidence to show. But by one of those slow and silent revolutions which the lapse of many centuries brings about in political as well as in religious communities, the ancient conception of the office, as essentially disciplinary and collegiate, has been superseded by a conception of it in which not only is a single presbyter competent to discharge all a presbyter's functions, but in which also those functions are primarily not those of discipline but 'the ministration of the Word and Sacraments'...
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The Supremacy of the Bishop
The supremacy of a single officer which was thus forced upon the Churches by the necessity for unity of doctrine, was consolidated by the necessity for unity in discipline... Early in the third century rose the question of readmission to membership of those who had fallen into grievous sin, or who had shrunk from martyrdom. For many years there had been comparative peace. In those years the gates of the Church had been opened wider than before. The sterner discipline had been relaxed. Christianity was not illegal and was tending to become fashionable. The fashionable church-goers accepted the easy terms which the State offered to those who were willing to acknowledge the State religion. Suddenly the flames of persecution shot fiercely forth again. The teachers of Christianity defended those who 'lapsed' on the theological ground that Christ did not call on all men to be partakers of His sufferings in the flesh. When the persecution was over many of the 'lapsed' wished to come back again...
In the earlier days each separate case came for judgment before the whole Church. The certificate of a confessor was of the nature of an appeal which the Church might upon occasion reject. But persecution sometimes rendered it impossible for the Church to be gathered together. The Church officers took it upon themselves to act for the general body. They readmitted the lapsed without consulting the assembly. That which had begun in a time of emergency tended to become a rule in a time of peace... The pure spouse of Christ was in peril of her virginity. The Churches for which some of them had sacrificed all they had were beginning to be filled with weak brethren who had preferred dishonor to death... There was a long and determined controversy... It was agreed on all sides that readmissions just not be indiscriminate. If the earlier usage of submitting each case to the tribunal of the whole assembly were impossible, at any rate individual presbyters and deacons must not act without the knowledge and approval of the president. This rule was in many cases resisted... but it ultimately became so general that the bishops came to claim the right of readmitting penitents, not in their capacity as presidents of the community but as an inherent function of the episcopate...
It was a natural effect of the same causes, and it forms an additional proof of their existence, that a rule should grow up that there should be only one bishop in a community. This rule was not firmly established until the third century. Its general recognition was the outcome of the dispute between Cyprian and Novatian. That dispute was one of the collateral results of the controversy... in reference to readmission of the lapsed...
The controversy was keen, but in the end the views of Cyprian prevailed. The necessity for unity outweighed all other considerations. Henceforth, whoever in any city claimed to be a member of the Christian Church must belong to the established organization of that city. The seamless coat of Christ must not be rent. As there was one God, and on Christ, and on Holy Spirit, so there could be but one bishop. *
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Editor's note - Cf. Elaine Pagels, The Gnostic Gospels (Vintage Books, 1981), 'One God, One Bishop': The Politics of Monotheism,' pp. 33-56. 'When the orthodox insisted upon 'one God', they simultaneously validated the system of governance in which the church is ruled by 'one bishop''.. [Clement's] letter marks a dramatic moment in the history of Christianity. For the first time, we find here an argument for dividing the Christian community between 'the clergy' and 'the laity'. The church is to be organized in terms of a strict order of superiors and subordinates... But Ignatius went further than Clement... [He] warns 'the laity' to revere, honor, and obey the bishop 'as if he were God'
The Two Candidate Choice- 2008- Paul or Keyes!
I will tell you, I didn't vote in the last election. I felt I wasn't given a choice anyway. Far too long America has suffered as a two party nation, the fault owed more to the media more than anywhere else I can lay fault at the doorstep..
In the last election how many knew that there were near 5 or 6 different choices we could have had and we ended up with the two party strangulation of this country again?
Well, depending who is in this next race will decide for me whether I will even consider voting. As I have explained to many, my first and only allegiance is to Christ and the kingdom of God. The kingdoms of earth, none are righteous.
Of course, that applies to the men that hold any office with the kingdoms of this world, but if I am to vote there are only two candidates that I see that will serve the purposes of Christians in maintaining our freedom and our peace. You won't hear much about them due to the the biased and paid for elitist media on Television and Newspapers.
Candidate One - Ron Paul- the Senator from Texas
and
Candidate Two- Alan Keyes, Statesman and Speaker.
Ron Paul's record is the best in Congress of all that are there.
Ron Paul has:
Never voted to raise taxes.
Never voted for an unbalanced budget
Never voted to raise Congressional pay
Never taken a government paid junket
Never voted to increase the power of the Executive Branch
Voted Against regulating the Internet
Did not participate in the lucarative congressional pension plan
repeatedly been named the "Taxpayers Best Friend in Congress
If he is elected, he will let Americans keep more of their money, end the IRS, stop the central bankers inflation tax, stop unconstitutional spending us to bankruptcy, stop the financial dependency on China, Saudi Arabia and other foreign governments. oppose trade deals and groups that threaten American Independence ( including the U.N., GATT, NAFTA, NAU, WTO, CAFTA, ICC), he will protect our privacy and stop the National ID card, he will protect our Constitutional rights and end the so called "Patriot Act". He will secure our borders and end illegal immigration, he will end the "birthright" citizenship for illegal aliens and he will bring our troops home from no-win police actions.
Ron Paul is serving his 10th term in the U.S. House. Dr. Ron Paul has delivered over 400 babies. He served this country as a Flight Surgeon in the Air Force and the Air National Guard. Ron has been married to his wife, Carol for 50 years. they have five children and 18 grand children. This is a Candidate if there ever was that is from right here in our home state of Texas!
Ron Paul is one of the few true Patriots left in Washington who is concerned with OUR RIGHTS and will fight the eroding policies and laws taking away our Bill of Rights under the lying precepts that they are protecting us from Terrorism.
The laws that should be enacted are not being enacted, and the ones that destroy all that America ever represented are the one's that they keep throwing at us, WE THE PEOPLE!
I agree with both candidates that you must eliminate the income tax, if "WE THE PEOPLE" ARE TO EVER REGAIN CONTROL OF THIS COUNTRY AGAIN.
I have mentioned Alan Keyes, many times here, he is a very intelligent Christian man, but to be honest, I don't think the red neck, prejudice, white supremicist in this country would ever vote him in, just because he is "black". If he is on the ticket, he will get my vote first and foremost and sorry all you, color haters, I am a white man! In Christ, their is neither white or black. So wake up, and read the Word of God sometime.
In my opinion, of what I have seen, read and know about this man's Christian beliefs, and his intelligence, outside of a few like Ron Paul, he is far smarter than most of the "white" people serving in Washington today.
His intellect has been sharpened by the Word of God, and his years of working in and around Washington he has seen first place the lies, and the elitist attitudes and the power, and greedy politicians first hand. He knows for America to ever get back into step, to remain free and independent of Globalism and the direction of becoming a Socialist, Communist nation, we need change, and he has outlined a lot of these on his website, along with his weekly newsletter Renewing America and the many great speeches he has given across the U.S.
Tommorrow is the Iowa Straw Poll and I wish both these men the best.
Ron Paul or Alan Keyes, if they aren't running as the selected candidates for whatever party they get a ticket on, I AM NOT WASTING MY VOTE, I WONT VOTE. In my opinion, there is only a two candidate choice in 2008 - Vote Ron Paul or Alan Keyes for President and not a two party choice.
I wished only we could have the both of them serving the Whitehouse. Perhaps if one of them obtain being selected as the Candidate for their party they would pull the other up alongside and run the ticket together as running mates.
There are probably a bunch of you out there that have never heard of either one of these candidates.
That's only because you live and breath the Fox Channel or one of the other TV news channels and just don't dig for yourself for truth to really discover, yes, America still has a chance to make it.
I sincerely believe if these two candidates are passed up to get into the race, that chance is gone forever. Two Candidate Choice - 2008. Make it Paul or Keyes!
Dr. J.
In the last election how many knew that there were near 5 or 6 different choices we could have had and we ended up with the two party strangulation of this country again?
Well, depending who is in this next race will decide for me whether I will even consider voting. As I have explained to many, my first and only allegiance is to Christ and the kingdom of God. The kingdoms of earth, none are righteous.
Of course, that applies to the men that hold any office with the kingdoms of this world, but if I am to vote there are only two candidates that I see that will serve the purposes of Christians in maintaining our freedom and our peace. You won't hear much about them due to the the biased and paid for elitist media on Television and Newspapers.
Candidate One - Ron Paul- the Senator from Texas
and
Candidate Two- Alan Keyes, Statesman and Speaker.
Ron Paul's record is the best in Congress of all that are there.
Ron Paul has:
Never voted to raise taxes.
Never voted for an unbalanced budget
Never voted to raise Congressional pay
Never taken a government paid junket
Never voted to increase the power of the Executive Branch
Voted Against regulating the Internet
Did not participate in the lucarative congressional pension plan
repeatedly been named the "Taxpayers Best Friend in Congress
If he is elected, he will let Americans keep more of their money, end the IRS, stop the central bankers inflation tax, stop unconstitutional spending us to bankruptcy, stop the financial dependency on China, Saudi Arabia and other foreign governments. oppose trade deals and groups that threaten American Independence ( including the U.N., GATT, NAFTA, NAU, WTO, CAFTA, ICC), he will protect our privacy and stop the National ID card, he will protect our Constitutional rights and end the so called "Patriot Act". He will secure our borders and end illegal immigration, he will end the "birthright" citizenship for illegal aliens and he will bring our troops home from no-win police actions.
Ron Paul is serving his 10th term in the U.S. House. Dr. Ron Paul has delivered over 400 babies. He served this country as a Flight Surgeon in the Air Force and the Air National Guard. Ron has been married to his wife, Carol for 50 years. they have five children and 18 grand children. This is a Candidate if there ever was that is from right here in our home state of Texas!
Ron Paul is one of the few true Patriots left in Washington who is concerned with OUR RIGHTS and will fight the eroding policies and laws taking away our Bill of Rights under the lying precepts that they are protecting us from Terrorism.
The laws that should be enacted are not being enacted, and the ones that destroy all that America ever represented are the one's that they keep throwing at us, WE THE PEOPLE!
I agree with both candidates that you must eliminate the income tax, if "WE THE PEOPLE" ARE TO EVER REGAIN CONTROL OF THIS COUNTRY AGAIN.
I have mentioned Alan Keyes, many times here, he is a very intelligent Christian man, but to be honest, I don't think the red neck, prejudice, white supremicist in this country would ever vote him in, just because he is "black". If he is on the ticket, he will get my vote first and foremost and sorry all you, color haters, I am a white man! In Christ, their is neither white or black. So wake up, and read the Word of God sometime.
In my opinion, of what I have seen, read and know about this man's Christian beliefs, and his intelligence, outside of a few like Ron Paul, he is far smarter than most of the "white" people serving in Washington today.
His intellect has been sharpened by the Word of God, and his years of working in and around Washington he has seen first place the lies, and the elitist attitudes and the power, and greedy politicians first hand. He knows for America to ever get back into step, to remain free and independent of Globalism and the direction of becoming a Socialist, Communist nation, we need change, and he has outlined a lot of these on his website, along with his weekly newsletter Renewing America and the many great speeches he has given across the U.S.
Tommorrow is the Iowa Straw Poll and I wish both these men the best.
Ron Paul or Alan Keyes, if they aren't running as the selected candidates for whatever party they get a ticket on, I AM NOT WASTING MY VOTE, I WONT VOTE. In my opinion, there is only a two candidate choice in 2008 - Vote Ron Paul or Alan Keyes for President and not a two party choice.
I wished only we could have the both of them serving the Whitehouse. Perhaps if one of them obtain being selected as the Candidate for their party they would pull the other up alongside and run the ticket together as running mates.
There are probably a bunch of you out there that have never heard of either one of these candidates.
That's only because you live and breath the Fox Channel or one of the other TV news channels and just don't dig for yourself for truth to really discover, yes, America still has a chance to make it.
I sincerely believe if these two candidates are passed up to get into the race, that chance is gone forever. Two Candidate Choice - 2008. Make it Paul or Keyes!
Dr. J.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Re-Thinking House Church
I am writing tonight about a subject that is as important to me as anything I have ever said. I often speak and often my words are harsh when I do not intend them to be. I often speak of Pastors as if they are all wrong and I am right. I do not intend to say that. I try hard to point people away from religion and one day worship, and a worship of man, and toward a return to early Christian biblical assembly and who and what the church (Ekklesia) really is. However, I want to make it perfectly clear, that I am not disparaging the work of a Pastor or what he feels his calling may be. I am only disparaging the idea of the office which man has elevated to a position that it was never meant to be. There are many fine Christian men who are serving in Pastorates aross America and elsewhere. These men are serving Christ in the best way they know how, trying to reach the lost, bandage the hurt, teach the Word of God and many really do desire deep in the heart of hearts to see the people rise from their pews and begin to live out and preach out a life in Christ. I am not their judge. I can be and am a judge of what scripture teaches us about true worship, true assembly, etc. we are all to have discernment of evil and good, as based on scripture as the authority and not myself. I try constantly to bring scripture to bear where I can on the subjects I speak about. Scripture should be the most important item of proof of God's will, even over history, my opinion or the opinion of others. The old saying the proof is in the pudding. Well the proofs for God's will for His people is in Holy Scripture.
House church is not a cure all for the ills of the assembly of God's people.
Christ is.
House church can be as off the wall as a Catholic Mass would be for Protestants attending. It can be just as much a one man show as any building bought and paid for by the congregation.
It can be chaotic and even non-spiritual if it is not lead, created and inspired and taught by the Holy Spirit.
It is easy to be critical of others, when we need to look at ourselves as well. I am writing this right now, because even in my rantings about Early Christianity, I must remember, and always recall, that I am no special prophet sent here from God to correct all the problems within organizational Christianity or non-traditional places of assembly. God forbid I fall to the same demonic lies that Gene Edwards has fallen into, that he is an Apostle and House Churches just can't be planted or grow without his presence or involvement.
I have learned to listen and observe and shut up at times, so that others can speak.
This even involves at times, listening to and speaking with a friend of mine who is a Pastor in the institutional sense of the office, yet, I know the men, and he sincerely loves Christ and wants nothing more than I do to see the people of his congregation to get up out of the pews and begin to take the pulpits into the streets of life.
I am sure he may even fear me, that if he reads my rantings, that he may fear I may be some false prophet or that I am seeking to take others and win them over or something to that end. I have no such intentions. I have been gifted to teach, and I love teaching others the Word of God. I would love to have open opportunites to speak to the congregation, but I would never speak to the congregation there on any matter other than Christ and Christ alone. It is not my calling to go in and tear another man's work down, for if it is built on Christ it will last, if it is not, it won't. So, I don't have to come in and put anything to the test. God is the one that test the hearts and the people, and - the Pastors. Not me. it is the Father who builds and brings together those that are seeking to know him. Not me. It is the Father that will teach them what they need to know, with or without the Pastor or myself. Our words are so meager, and insufficient, our teachings are so filled with ourselves at times. Only God can give a man or woman what they need to hear. If they are His child then it will be Him who guides them into all truth. So, once again, though my stance is what I believe to be scriptural, and what I believe is to be the truth about organizational religious institutions, I still am not the teacher on these things, only Christ can bring the truth to bear as He did with me. The one thing I am learning though, is that this just may be one of the many stages of Christian growth we go through. What the Father keeps pointing me to is to love above all things. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds. Jesus was never selective in who He spoke to or who He hung around with.
He exemplified love to the trillionth degree, even when he spoke in anger or in correction to the Pharisees, it is not their destruction He desired but their repentance, it was never from a heart of being proudful, a know it all, or putting above all others, though He was from above, it was always with the intent to draw men to the Father and out of a heart of love.
This is where, I am asking daily for God to make me grow, that I will know nothing but His love and that love shed abroad to all that come into my path. Regardless of their stature or position in life. I pray that I will take time to listen and really listen, without pre-judgement or pre-suppostion about anyone. That I will love them with the degree of love that He has given to me, first and foremost. To do that, especially when you know what you think you know, you still have to be willing to be as Jesus was " though he was God, he humbled himself and became mere man". He laid down all of His crown so that He could know you and me and love us to the fullest. This is our calling to love and love foremost.
We are to love as we desire to be loved and as Christ as loved us. "He died for us while we were yet sinners."
House church is not the answer, knowledge is not the answer, Theology, Church History, Ecclesiology, Eschatology, Education, none of these are the answers for what ails the body of Christ, only Christ is the answer.
So, I apologize to any of those that feel I may have offended them in the sense that it was done without love in it. If I sounded puffed up in the things I have said, they were never intended to come across that way. I am mere man, one who like everyone else is on this adventure with the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am learning as well as you are learning. We can learn from one another. I believe what I believe about scriptural assembly because that is what the Word says, regardless of history. I believe what I believe it is because it is what the Lord has taught me. The real thing we have to remember is God never teaches us anything with the intent to lord it over others, but is taught so that we might love others.
Jesus is to hold all pre-eminence over His body, Jesus is the High Priest, and we are His Tabernacle, His dwelling place.
When I tell others these things it is not to draw attention to myself as if I knew it all, but to draw them to Jesus and Him alone. I speak from scripture, as it is the only authority given and proven by the Holy Spirit.
I hold no authority, Christ is above all. These are the points I wish to make. I don't want to draw people away to follow me, I don't want people to just get up and quit church, I want people to become "the church", the "Ekklesia" for which we have been called.
If a person finds themselves in a situation within organized religion where they believe God has called them to be, or they are, who am I to play Holy Spirit and tell them no, that can't be.
We are called to become all things to all people that Christ may be all and all.
It is his love that will draw men, and not doctrines or church practices or a million other things that we think we might offer others to seek.
It is the Father alone who will draw men to himself. I have no right to say where, how or when.
I have been re-thinking house church. It is not the answer, Christ is!
It is within the boundaries of love His love, when lived out through us, that men will be drawn to the Gospel. No men will come to a another men, that thinks he knows more than he. It must be God the Father , through the work of the Holy Spirit that will bring truth to bear, and He can do it in the organization or out of the organization - let's be honest my journey began within. Who am I to put God in a nice little neat package in how He works. I can't deliver God in a box, like he was an order at the fast food restaraunt. The Lord will work in spite of me.
Perhaps God has allowed the within to draw us without, to brings us to Himself. Let us not disparage those that the Father may be using, as a tool to draw them to His love. There are many men and women to be found both in the house church and men's traditional church who sincerely love Christ, it will be His love that will draw them without, and they may end up just staying within the organization to bring Christ to those who may never ever have known truth otherwise.
Let us pray for all the areas of God's works and administrations of the Spirit, to see the ultimate goal and that is "love".
For God is love.
I will continue to speak on matters of scripture always, but let me never become so that I sound like the letter that kills, but let me speak and act as the Spirit of the Lord would have me, and that is of the Spirit that brings life.
It is the life of love, forgiveness and compassion for all men, that we need, and that can't be pinned down to one way of worship or another it can only be found in a Christ centered life in all that we do and all that we say. Let us speak in terms of His love first and foremost.
Let love be our foundation, since God is love.
Dr. J.
House church is not a cure all for the ills of the assembly of God's people.
Christ is.
House church can be as off the wall as a Catholic Mass would be for Protestants attending. It can be just as much a one man show as any building bought and paid for by the congregation.
It can be chaotic and even non-spiritual if it is not lead, created and inspired and taught by the Holy Spirit.
It is easy to be critical of others, when we need to look at ourselves as well. I am writing this right now, because even in my rantings about Early Christianity, I must remember, and always recall, that I am no special prophet sent here from God to correct all the problems within organizational Christianity or non-traditional places of assembly. God forbid I fall to the same demonic lies that Gene Edwards has fallen into, that he is an Apostle and House Churches just can't be planted or grow without his presence or involvement.
I have learned to listen and observe and shut up at times, so that others can speak.
This even involves at times, listening to and speaking with a friend of mine who is a Pastor in the institutional sense of the office, yet, I know the men, and he sincerely loves Christ and wants nothing more than I do to see the people of his congregation to get up out of the pews and begin to take the pulpits into the streets of life.
I am sure he may even fear me, that if he reads my rantings, that he may fear I may be some false prophet or that I am seeking to take others and win them over or something to that end. I have no such intentions. I have been gifted to teach, and I love teaching others the Word of God. I would love to have open opportunites to speak to the congregation, but I would never speak to the congregation there on any matter other than Christ and Christ alone. It is not my calling to go in and tear another man's work down, for if it is built on Christ it will last, if it is not, it won't. So, I don't have to come in and put anything to the test. God is the one that test the hearts and the people, and - the Pastors. Not me. it is the Father who builds and brings together those that are seeking to know him. Not me. It is the Father that will teach them what they need to know, with or without the Pastor or myself. Our words are so meager, and insufficient, our teachings are so filled with ourselves at times. Only God can give a man or woman what they need to hear. If they are His child then it will be Him who guides them into all truth. So, once again, though my stance is what I believe to be scriptural, and what I believe is to be the truth about organizational religious institutions, I still am not the teacher on these things, only Christ can bring the truth to bear as He did with me. The one thing I am learning though, is that this just may be one of the many stages of Christian growth we go through. What the Father keeps pointing me to is to love above all things. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds. Jesus was never selective in who He spoke to or who He hung around with.
He exemplified love to the trillionth degree, even when he spoke in anger or in correction to the Pharisees, it is not their destruction He desired but their repentance, it was never from a heart of being proudful, a know it all, or putting above all others, though He was from above, it was always with the intent to draw men to the Father and out of a heart of love.
This is where, I am asking daily for God to make me grow, that I will know nothing but His love and that love shed abroad to all that come into my path. Regardless of their stature or position in life. I pray that I will take time to listen and really listen, without pre-judgement or pre-suppostion about anyone. That I will love them with the degree of love that He has given to me, first and foremost. To do that, especially when you know what you think you know, you still have to be willing to be as Jesus was " though he was God, he humbled himself and became mere man". He laid down all of His crown so that He could know you and me and love us to the fullest. This is our calling to love and love foremost.
We are to love as we desire to be loved and as Christ as loved us. "He died for us while we were yet sinners."
House church is not the answer, knowledge is not the answer, Theology, Church History, Ecclesiology, Eschatology, Education, none of these are the answers for what ails the body of Christ, only Christ is the answer.
So, I apologize to any of those that feel I may have offended them in the sense that it was done without love in it. If I sounded puffed up in the things I have said, they were never intended to come across that way. I am mere man, one who like everyone else is on this adventure with the Lord Jesus Christ.
I am learning as well as you are learning. We can learn from one another. I believe what I believe about scriptural assembly because that is what the Word says, regardless of history. I believe what I believe it is because it is what the Lord has taught me. The real thing we have to remember is God never teaches us anything with the intent to lord it over others, but is taught so that we might love others.
Jesus is to hold all pre-eminence over His body, Jesus is the High Priest, and we are His Tabernacle, His dwelling place.
When I tell others these things it is not to draw attention to myself as if I knew it all, but to draw them to Jesus and Him alone. I speak from scripture, as it is the only authority given and proven by the Holy Spirit.
I hold no authority, Christ is above all. These are the points I wish to make. I don't want to draw people away to follow me, I don't want people to just get up and quit church, I want people to become "the church", the "Ekklesia" for which we have been called.
If a person finds themselves in a situation within organized religion where they believe God has called them to be, or they are, who am I to play Holy Spirit and tell them no, that can't be.
We are called to become all things to all people that Christ may be all and all.
It is his love that will draw men, and not doctrines or church practices or a million other things that we think we might offer others to seek.
It is the Father alone who will draw men to himself. I have no right to say where, how or when.
I have been re-thinking house church. It is not the answer, Christ is!
It is within the boundaries of love His love, when lived out through us, that men will be drawn to the Gospel. No men will come to a another men, that thinks he knows more than he. It must be God the Father , through the work of the Holy Spirit that will bring truth to bear, and He can do it in the organization or out of the organization - let's be honest my journey began within. Who am I to put God in a nice little neat package in how He works. I can't deliver God in a box, like he was an order at the fast food restaraunt. The Lord will work in spite of me.
Perhaps God has allowed the within to draw us without, to brings us to Himself. Let us not disparage those that the Father may be using, as a tool to draw them to His love. There are many men and women to be found both in the house church and men's traditional church who sincerely love Christ, it will be His love that will draw them without, and they may end up just staying within the organization to bring Christ to those who may never ever have known truth otherwise.
Let us pray for all the areas of God's works and administrations of the Spirit, to see the ultimate goal and that is "love".
For God is love.
I will continue to speak on matters of scripture always, but let me never become so that I sound like the letter that kills, but let me speak and act as the Spirit of the Lord would have me, and that is of the Spirit that brings life.
It is the life of love, forgiveness and compassion for all men, that we need, and that can't be pinned down to one way of worship or another it can only be found in a Christ centered life in all that we do and all that we say. Let us speak in terms of His love first and foremost.
Let love be our foundation, since God is love.
Dr. J.
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