Christmas Presents or Christ Presence

I am home sick today. I sometimes think my physical maladies correspond with the sickness I see about me in society and life. There is a spiritual vacuum it seems in the world today, of course no different in days past but this vacuum seems to grow in intensity at this time of year, especially in America.
I being a student of both history and scripture, know that Christ wasn't born on December 25th in the year of our Lord. I also know the origins for this date from the Mithraism or the cult of SOL INVICTUS (the Unconquered Sun) from the days of the Roman Empire. December 25th was first celebrated as the birthday of Mithras, a persian god, usually depicted as straddling a bull and killing it with a sword.

Mithras represented a savior-king throughout the Persian Empire well before the 1st Century, but was well adopted by the Roman legionnaires. Even coins stamped by Constantine, who was a pagan who used Christianity to bind the Roman empire for unity, had the symbol of the Sun God, tied to his reign and emblazoned on coins of the time. It was only on his death bed, that Constantine the founder of today's church and it's buildings, sought water baptism, for security from his fear of death.
It was in the context of these times, that many pagan traditions were mixed into Christianity and exist even today in modern "churchianity".

Regardless of it's origin from paganism, many Christians today, exclaim that this is to be representative of the time of the birth of Christ, and churches throughout America, seek to show that in Christmas specials and more.

Even in my town, there are plans for a full size live show with animals and more at one of the cities most important atheletic and conference centers, Known as the "CAIN CENTER". This show is being brought to you by our most favored Baptist Church, the one above all others, as it refers to itself as the "First Baptist".

Christmas time becomes a scurry for the religionist to find something they can do, to outdo the rest of the churches in. This often is more of a drive for evangelism and adding numbers to their membership rolls then anything else. People will bring out their children to see live shows, live animals and all the pageantry of Christmas and the story told of Baby Jesus. This then becomes the opportunity to seek new converts to their church and new money in the "offering plates" come the next year. Oh! they will tell you, this is evangelism, but is it?

This is the time of year, that I believe that if we are true "anointed one's" of Him. That rather than emphasizing, the giving of presents or recieving of presents, that this is a time like no other for us to take what is a largely paganist in origin, materialistic in practice, and show time for the churches, and make it real to our children and those around us. It is time for Christians to do as Paul quotes in Ephesians 5:14- "Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you"
It is time for us if we lay claim to being Christian, to reveal the life and presence of Christ in us! It is time we teach our children, that Christmas isn't about "Christmas Presents but about Christ Presence".

I remind us all, to take heed to Pauls' words in the book of 2 Corinthians 15:5-
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith, examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that JESUS CHRIST is in you- unless indeed you fail the test.

The whole story of this child being born into the world and then being crucified at the young age of 33 (best appr age, based on the experts) is not the end of the story, but the beginning of a greater one. That greater story is that this Christ child would introduce life back into a world which had been dead far too long from the days of Adam, and this child would become the eternal living presence, that would reside in the hearts of all those who would recieve Him as the true life in God, a glorious redemption that restores man to the intention for which God created Him to be the very image and glory of Him! We have been restored and it was in this child that was born in Bethlehem, who through His mighty resurrection, destroyed sin and death, and now His presence is within us forever...His kingdom is everlasting, and He resides with, and in those who have recieved Him by faith. They have accepted the greatest Christmas present ever given to any man, they have recieved Christ Presence!

May the Lord bless and keep each and every one of you, during this time and season. Let it be a time to teach one another and our children, that Christmas Presents isn't what is all about, but every day is to be a lesson from one to another of Christ Presence within our own lives. The life of Christ within you, the hope of glory~!

Dr. J.

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.