Go to the center, go to the core,
Explode there your marvelous light,
Banish the darkness to dwell there no more,
Alas, shall my soul gain sight.
Fill to the height’s, from the depths of my being
O’ Spirit of God draw near,
Pour forth perfect love, yes, shed it abroad!
Displace the last traces of fear
Prov 14:4
Where no oxen are, the crib is clean:
but much increase is by the strength of the ox.
The strength of the ox brings much increase! He breaks up the fallow ground, pulling rocks and stumps to clear your land. He plows the fields, which yield your grain and fertilizes your garden that your fruits may be plentiful. Then kindly hauls the harvest into your barns. She yields her milk for butter and cream and bears her young that your children may benefit also. At last, they yield their life for meat and give their hide for clothes. Yet, all this benefit many forgo, all because they’re too proud to shovel the stall. So too, many spiritual leaders in order to keep all things decent and in order, (which really means; not rocking their boat) muzzle, shutdown or cast out the first hint of conflict (usually, another oral gift attempting to hold them accountable). By refusing to be equally yoked with the other oxen whom God has sent, they assure themself of burn out, as pride always plows alone.
Gen 1:12
The earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his own kind: and God saw that it was good.
Figs bear figs, grapes bear grapes and thorns bear thorns. Excellence breeds excellence and corruption breeds corruption. Christ Jesus being buried in the earth, having the shell of His flesh broken, would resurrect with unrestrainable reproductive power. As He ascended, He gave gifts to men pouring out that same Spirit, which raised Him from the dead. The genetic code of Christ was transferred into a gathering of His disciples (120) in an upper room. Thus creating a new organism called the body of Christ (the church), His manifest offspring, being born again of incorruptible seed bearing the likeness of His image and nature. Filled with the Holy Spirit, these first fruits of Christ went out into the streets, endued with power, demonstrating the grace of God, proclaiming His glorious gospel to every nation, people and tongue.
Acts 2:7-11
And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another,
behold, are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we everyman in their own tongue wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, and Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
Though the Scripture highlights the preaching of Peter on the day of Pentecost, it is clear that all the disciples present went out preaching, declaring the wonderful works of God! Many of the disciples dispersed abroad immediately, probably to regions such as;
Luke 2:8
And there were in the same country shepherds (plural) abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their (plural) flock (singular) by night.
It is interesting to note that new covenant scripture always refer to pastors and shepherds in the plural form, the only exception being; Jesus our Chief Shepherd and His parables about Himself. Could it be that God never intended for pastors to shepherd alone? Might our Lord expect balanced mutual accountability among elders? 1 Pet 5:1-5 states these key points about leadership: “elders, ( plural ) Feed the flock of God which is among you.” again showing safety in the multitude of council. This also infers that the elders all function as pastors. Note: never are titles such as; head, lead or chief used to reference a pastor, again excepting Jesus. No such office or title exists among men! Furthermore, the Holy Spirit instructs us through Peter saying, “ taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.” The instructions given here in 1 Pet 5, agree with the command of our Lord Jesus, in Luke
Let us remember that at Pentecost, God ordained His church by ordaining a multitude, not a man! Yet, we fashion church governments (For men have made many subdivisions of Christ’s one Church) with the same hierarchal pyramid structure as the world; creating positions/offices of authority which rule over, rather than functions which get under and serve. Those who attain such positions of authority often find their livelihood and identity through it and strive to maintain the respect they feel entitled to. Rather than laying down their lives that others might live, they preserve themselves and forget the admonition of Jesus in Mark 8:35 saying , whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. These entrenched authorities have long lost sight of God's intention to equip and perfect the saints and systematically pass on error generation to generation.
“Location, location, location.” Every businessman knows location is everything in order to funnel a high volume of traffic and money into his store. However, Christ is not trying to funnel people into the local church, but to disperse His church out into the community. If principalities and powers can continue to convince the church to isolate herself between four walls, they’ve accomplished their purpose. Principalities don’t mind preaching on the merits of unity and faithfulness, if it keeps your loyalty contained within the narrow-minded limits of a local institution. Group Pride is an effective way to maintain isolation and alienate against the larger body abroad. Sadly again, religious ego’s are the benefactors of such demonic doctrines, as they define the gathering place as submitted beneath them and the storehouse as the institution which pays their salary through your tithes. They set themselves up as benefactors and lords over God's heritage, receiving more from the body than they give, as parasites feeding upon the host. These use fear to manipulate the congregation, “you’re vulnerable to the roaring lion, if you're outside this fold.” And “the devourer will wreak havoc on your finances, if you don't tithe in this house.” Making themselves benefactors who prosper from the fear they peddle.
Let me make this clear from the beginning. It is not my intention, neither am I advocating in any way, shape or form, that we be anything less than generous with the resources God has entrusted to us. As always they remain at Christ’s disposal. We are to be imitators of God; Who “gives to all men liberally and upbraideth not.” He is a Father to the fatherless, the husband to the widow, He causes His rain to fall on the just and the unjust, He feeds the sparrows and clothes the lilies. We should indeed be a generous people, led by His Spirit, using our money, goods and talents to meet the needs of our neighbors, demonstrating love, in deed and in truth. Having our feet deliver to their door, our hands distribute to their need and our face be the expression of Christ’s love in our neighborhood.
1 Peter 2:5
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood,
to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
The new covenant that Jesus established, decentralized God’s government and removed all middlemen ( except Jesus ). So what practical changes have been made?
1.) The Place: instead of one
2.) The Priesthood: in place of the Levites, we are now all His nation of Priests.
3.) The Purpose: rather than sustaining the Levites, God’s resources in our priestly hands need to minister to our neighbors; each other, the homeless, strangers, widows and orphans and anywhere else the spirit directs us.
4.) The Percentage: 10% may be a good baseline of giving, but be prepared to give it all, 100% if the Lord should require. Remember the widow’s mite; she gave all she had to live off, trusting God to sustain her.
Refs: Num
Other troublesome issues with required tithing.
1.) It impersonalizes ministry alleviating the priestly responsibilities of every believer; Taking our faces, hands and feet out of the picture. ( You demonstrating love with God’s money)
2.) It severely limit’s the number of outlets for God’s ministry of provision. Forcing the community to funnel into and beg at man’s institutions, rather than God’s Church being led of His Spirit, going out to meet the needs of their neighbors.
3.) Inefficiency; a large percentage is siphoned off for bureaucracy: salaries, mortgages, utilities and other programs that would otherwise care for the poor and needy among us.
Bottom line: Every Saint should be led by the Spirit with God’s resources in their hands. Remember, “ It is more blessed to give than receive.” So, be generous.
Systemic Social Dysfunction
1 Peter 5:2-4
Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers,
not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
nor as being lords over those entrusted to you,
but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears,
you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.
NKJV
The Lord wants our time, energy and money to be invested in His kingdom purposes, basically, in Others; that the outflow of our resources minister to people in order to establish and enhance the will of God for their lives. Concerning all such giving, He furthermore demands our offerings be made from a willing heart and not by constraint. Again, God’s Kingdom is relational and considers every individual personally, right down to the least among us. Unfortunately, and all too often, men build social structures intended to serve and protect the rights of people, which in time become an entity unto itself, demanding that the people serve it. Labor unions are a prime example; although the original intent was perhaps a just cause, it became overshadowed and overwhelmed with one-size-fits-all policies which do not reflect the good of all its members. On one hand, protecting the slothful, non-producing drains, which otherwise would be fired, and on the other, demanding groupthink on multiple issues, while persecuting those members with contrary views. Who protects the union member who disagrees with the union bosses from the bosses? The union itself becomes yet another oppressive layer of bureaucracy demanding your submission, or else.
The greatest tragedy of modern Christianity is our tolerance of institutional dysfunction through lording systems, which fail to empower individuals and make disciples unto Christ. Whether, politically or spiritually, the organizations of man tend to lord over its members and create welfare societies, which survive off fostered dependency upon the establishment. Such entities waste large amounts of resources on structural costs, salaries and bureaucratic red tape, and then give a pittance to the starving masses while impugning their ingratitude. It’s become a sick science. It seems the wolves have gotten wise and traded in their sheep skins for shepherd’s robes. While the good Shepherd knows and cares for each individual lamb by name and will leave the 99 to go after the 1, these hirelings will gladly slaughter a dozen and pray the 88 remaining breed quickly! It's all about control, managing the sheep through the illusion of serving their welfare, managing numbers so the establishment can survive. It is the welfare church that encourages co-dependency upon itself, which keeps the church infantile, weak and ineffective. By exploiting the needy through their dysfunctional co-dependence, you who ought to strengthen the feeble and make disciples like unto Christ, deny them the life and liberty Jesus purchased with blood! People should not be made to feel guilty and put under obligation to build religious structures as men have determined. Both the tabernacle of Moses and the temple which Solomon built were not placed as a burden upon the people's backs, but “whosoever’s heart was made willing” brought their offerings. Yet, we're continually counting our tithes, taking attendance and calculating if we can pay the pastor's salary and make the mortgage payment we've laid upon the sheep. I suppose that's what you get when you elect businessmen as elders. We've been leaning upon our own understanding, doing business, just like the world has for centuries, preaching about faith and the widow's mite while strapping debt upon the flock and heaping guilt to exact a tithe. Swallowing a camel, while straining out a gnat, as the scribes and Pharisees did.
The Kisses of an Enemy; Why Progressive Liberalism is Evil!
Proverbs 27:6
Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
Presumptuous souls devoid of truth and the naïve souls who follow them cause the ditches to overflow with blind men. Hosea 4:6 says "my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." Our complacency makes us easy prey, our ignorance makes us vulnerable to deception, for the cunning lion roars out lies and devours the lazy undiscerning sheep.
Systemic Social Dysfunction:
Liberalism, Progressivism, Communism or the Democratic Elites
Liberalism at its heart is presumptuous and condescending, a lethal mix of ignorance and arrogance. It touts itself as intellectually superior and assumes the multitudes will blindly follow its dazzling brilliance. One must only look behind the curtain to see the wizard is a fraud. Unfortunately, a large portion of the ill-educated, ill-informed public does indeed blindly yield both their vote and tax dollars to this insidious ideal. Not to impugn the innocent, we must draw a distinction between the two classes of liberals; there are the misguided masses of people, whose co-dependence empowers the much smaller elite class, enabling them to exploit their trust. The sheep are not evil, just lazy, unaware that they are herded by wolves in shepherds clothing. It is the self-serving elitists who perpetrate evil against humanity. They portray themselves as the benevolent caretakers of the poor and downtrodden, yet view the masses as cattle to be corralled and consumed. As the fisherman baits the fish, liberals bait the poor with social programs and political promises, which bring them into captivity. Their social programs have diminishing returns which creates an even greater dependency upon government, coupled with an oppressive tax structure which insures ongoing poverty. It’s been said,
“if you give a man a fish he will eat for a day,
teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.”
Liberals would have us stand in line for hours to give us our daily fish, gradually reducing the portions in an effort to conserve for all, and then raise our taxes to pay for their generosity. They don’t want you to know how to fish, that would empower your independence. If you did know how to fish, they would limit your catch, tell you which ponds to fish from, tax the use of public waters, and regulate the market price of the fish you sell. Only those fishermen, who laud the merits of liberalism, would find relief, given the proverbial back scratching of; kickbacks, campaign contributions, and perhaps a small pond to govern. It’s a perverse system innately corrupt, rewarding sycophants and suck-ups, promoting those with compromised character. As thorns bear thorns, weakness begets weakness, and the dysfunctional cycle perpetuates itself.
A Subtle Subversion
“Perhaps, the most insidious abuse of power is to foster the dependence of
an able-bodied people, while withholding the key to their independence; knowledge.”
There are two kinds of oppressors in the world: 1.) Assertive oppressors; who utilize force, intimidation and violence to subjugate their foes. 2.) Passive oppressors; who utilize deceit and manipulation to usurp the ignorant masses, incrementally pilfering their freedoms. These Elitists seek positions of influence in both;( the News media and Government ) whereby they may impose their egocentric agendas. Though one form of oppression may spill less blood, both are an evil abuse of our fellow humanity and directly violate God’s command to love one another. Liberals are a type of passive oppressor and unlike their brutish brothers the Communists, they employ more subtle means of coercion; whether by hijacking the educational system and indoctrinating our youth, or by infiltrating our justice system and legislating from the bench, they usurp the will of the people and inflict their will upon us. The modus operandi of liberalism is triangulation; they sow discord between rich and poor, black and white, gay and straight, atheists and religious, and then audaciously portray themselves as the wise and compassionate reconcilers of society, privately engineering distress and conflict, while publicly lauding themselves as rescuers and peacemakers. They are parasites who feast upon social dysfunction. The objective of liberalism is to create an ever-increasing dependent class of people, slaves to the system, a host large enough to feed their parasitic appetites. What they fail to learn from history is; when the diseased dog dies the blood bloated fleas do as well.
Two factors enabling the evil of liberalism are; Darwinism and Moral relativism. Darwinism has set the stage by dismissing the creator as an irrelevant notion, vain men now presume to occupy the seat of highest life form. They believe time and chance have favored their linage, that they have evolved into the surviving fittest, therefore they deem themselves as supreme arbitrators in all things; moral, social, and political. Though they won’t come right out and say it, they may as well declare themselves God. Flattering themselves among themselves and throwing accolades at each other, these elitists feel self-assured, that they are the highest evolved, that nature has selected them to sit at the top of the food chain. In a violent “dog-eat-dog” world, these social opportunist readily exploit the weakness of others, considering the suffering of the oppressed as collateral damage necessary for their survival and prosperity. Considering their intellectual prowess as a natural advantage, mastering deception simply becomes a necessary skill, useful in obtaining and maintaining their place of influence. Darwinism has become more religious than scientific, frequently shortcutting scientific method in order to protect and promote an unproven theory. Intellectual dishonesty is commonplace among the evolutionist, who conveniently ignores legitimate scientific challenges contrary to their sacred theory. Many of these brainwashed disciples of
A Relatively Slippery Slope
Moral relativism is a humanistic philosophy which fosters lawlessness and excuses evil,“ if the end justifies the means“. Those who employ its rhetoric attempt to alleviate guilt and shrug off accountability to God and man. These are master manipulators who thrive in an environment of chaos. All of us long to be truly loved, without pretense, hidden agendas or strings attached. We want to be dealt with fairly and honestly, and be valued for who we are, and live free from all forms of coercion. In a world saturated with selfishness, betrayal and manipulation are commonplace. No one wants to be taken advantage of; to be deceived and defrauded is a painful and costly experience. Unfortunately, sin has reduced mankind to mere animals, self-preserving, self-serving and opportunistic, it’s a truly “ dog eat dog world out there”. Who desires to live in such a cruel and deceptive world? Only those skillful with cruelty and proficient with deceit! The moral relativist is one such animal, considering attributes such as deceit and manipulation useful tools for exploiting the naïve masses. Alternately known as; situational ethics or casuistry, moral relativism is predicated on the assumption that there is no moral authority in the universe, that God is either absent or indifferent concerning the affairs of men, and therefore, there are no moral absolutes to adhere to, or universal standard of judgment. All behavior can be justified by subjective convenience, as there are no objective criterions to establish social justice by. Thus, there is no longer truth and equity for all citizens, rather the whims of man’s will shall dictate all judgment. As it is written,
Prov 21:2 ~ ~ Judges 17:6
Every way of man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord ponders the heart. And again,
There was no king in
With the moral relativist, suitable behavior is not a matter of conscience, but that of convenience. In their vain attempt to absolve their guilty conscience and circumvent certain judgment, moral relativist have perfected the art of blurring the lines. Endlessly assaulting Truth, they declare with absolute conviction; “ there are no absolutes! ” Yet, this self-defeating statement is a philosophical conundrum, exposing their willful ignorance! They will leverage either side of an argument as convenience dictates, their hypocrisy knows no bounds! These assault absolutes such as; Truth and God, as dreamy notions for weak minded souls in need of a crutch. Their speech is contemptible and full of deceit, laced with euphemisms and double talk, they neither hesitate or flinch as they report their exaggerated statistics, inflated budgets and stacked polls. Their social programs and political actions are equally pretentious and prove to be as ineffective as Band-Aids on cancer! They therefore rely heavily upon an uninformed and forgetful public, to shirk accountability for their previous deeds and statements.
2 Timothy 3:13
but evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
Presuming mankind is the highest evolved life form on the planet, the dominant predator, Darwinism establishes men as gods, only accountable unto themselves. Moral relativism then conveniently justifies their deviant behavior and appeases their guilty mind. They know not the meaning of “ Love thy neighbor ” for their neighbor is simply prey. As for God and justice, they are merely romantic notions, for the weaker species to hope in.
Absurdity
A commentary on relativism
What is Truth?
It’s relative, to your own point of view
There’s absolutely no such thing
as an absolute!
Words do not exist
and I’m a Nazi-Jew
There is no contradiction
Why looking so confused?
You say that there’s a God
And what’s right He defines
But, if I don’t like your standard
I’ll simply blur the lines
Whether bad is good
or good is bad
It matters not to me
I always justify myself
I am
Hypocrisy
Unity of the Brethren
Amos 3:3 ~ ~ Eph 4:3-6, ~13
Can two walk together, except they be agreed? ~
~ Endeavour to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;
One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all,
who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
~ Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God,
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.
What is the value of unity, if its not in Christ? What is the value of community, if relationships are exploited? Fellowship and community are important aspects of our spiritual life, however, Jesus never asked us to submit our light beneath bushel baskets of institutional religion, or be yoked by man’s traditions. Humanism should never be confused with godliness! Agreeing to get along on terms set by man may bode well for slaves, but is not the portion of free sons and heirs. Men may unite, (as they did at
Unity is often mistakenly understood, as everyone knowing their place in the pecking order and being content therein. The truest expression of Unity in the body of Christ, is not the unilateral submission of a weaker species beneath the stronger, ( as sheep under a shepherd ) but, it is the shoulder to shoulder agreement of the mighty with the Almighty, being made One, as the Father, Son and Spirit are One. We will never become one with Christ through ecumenical compromise or tolerance of man’s order. Only through fervent passion for Jesus, His Truth and Way can we all come into the corporate maturity and unity God desires!
Ps 133
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard,
even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments.
How is true unity achieved, is it through mutual compromise, where two parties sacrifice their convictions in order to get along? Or by unilateral submission, one-party yielding and conforming to the requirements of a pre-existing structure or government (entrenched institutional leaders )?
It is a shameful indictment that those who are supposed to be most mature among us are not able to receive alongside other mature brothers, when those preaching unity from the pulpit are themselves territorial, insecure and exclusive. These make a mockery of the whole concept of unity and become impediments to the purposes of God. Is not the unity God is looking for, a convergence of convictions in Christ? All members submitted to each other in love, serving one another as unto Christ? If we would recognize Christ in each other, we would serve His needs and obey whatever He speaks. The Lord has been known to speak through a servant girl, a donkey and even confirmed His Word by a rooster‘s crowing. Ought we not be careful then, to recognize Jesus in the least among us, honoring, serving and obeying Him as Christ manifests through each of us? This is the matured unity of the faith; having God’s perspective, being one and esteeming Christ in each other, as better than our self.
Adversity causes us to measure life well,
Until nothing is taken for granted
The soul plucked from despair
Finds its heart immersed in gratitude
No greater rejoicing was ever conceived
Than the once long barren womb
Struggle only deepens the rivers of our peace,
Pain only broadens the oceans of our joy
Contrast delivers us from shallow mediocrity
Enabling us to appraise the heights and depths of Love
Light only illumines, when set against the dark
As candles burnt in noonday sun, waste their wick for naught
There’s no sweet taste of victory,
Where no battle has been fought
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