George Floyd – Path Without End

cart-before-the-horse This last weekend in Indianapolis, 7 people were shot, and 2 died. No police were involved in these events taking place in minority areas of our city. Our poorer areas of the city are slowly evolving into war zones and have been for some time. My question is…

How motivated are the police going to be to go into these places where they are so hated, and if they do anything wrong in these high pressure, split second, life threatening events, they will be crucified? I’m not talking about what we saw with the police in Minneapolis, but the real stuff that happens every day! Guns and violence erupting in a split second! How much would you be willing to risk your life and career under these current circumstances? The people who seem to need the police the most, (and we all need them), but are they not cutting their own lifeline? Or am I just stupid?

I still believe it is a matter of faith and heart. There is a Reverend Charles Harrison and the Ten Point Coalition working desperately to bring a peaceful spirit to these communities. There is evidence suggesting they have made a real difference in some areas, but where are all the good church people in those communities that could join that effort?

There is no light except the light of Christ. If minds and hearts are full of darkness, then so will be the neighborhood, even on a sunny day. Can law enforcement or counselors change that? Unless they have real light to offer, I think not. We need a massive heart transplant, and not the kind that any medical doctor can do. I think Reverend Dr. Charles Harrison has the right idea if it leads to truly changed hearts.

So… will we see higher and higher death rates, crime rates, criminal activity and family disputes in minority areas until our new answers have a chance to work? Will these people suffer even more? And what are those new answers? Street counselors armed with psycho babble and no police backup, in the streets stopping gun toting thugs and gangs? Have we identified the real problem, or simply “avoided” the real issue again? Is this a real answer? Do we reap what we sow?

The tragedy is, and I mean real tragedy, as in TRAGIC! 7 more people were shot over the weekend because of violence filling the streets, and no one can speak of the real reasons, unless those of their own neighborhoods do. It does no good for anyone else to say anything. Past efforts have proven that. We might as well stay silent, because unless we’re one of them, and I am not, evidently, we should not speak, because we know nothing.

20190807_124624 — **An I-Beam from the fallen Towers of NYC. The sun can shine its guts out, but if the hearts of man are full of darkness then the whole world is dark. The sun is not the light of this world!**

The weight of the world is upon our shoulders. Do you feel it church? You should! Blessed are they that mourn? Are you feeling the pain of our present age? Or are you cozy, protected, untouched in your personal comfort zone? How do you change the hate filled hearts and minds of our present age? That is the task assigned to us and we are failing! Is it the world’s fault? Or ours?

George Floyd. Need I say more? Covid 19. Corona. Need I say more? Nursing homes. Need I say more? The Twin Towers of NYC. Need I say more? And who has the power to change all this? Only a powerful church. That’s right. Because… the sun above is not the light of this world. That sun can shine its guts out but if the hearts and minds of people are dark, the whole world is full of darkness, and how great is that darkness! God says in the days of Noah the whole earth was filled with violence!

I know this is crazy, but at this time, on this Pentecost weekend, God has me doing a series on POWER? Hhmm. This ought to be good. God’s got to prove it to me on this one.

Real LOVE cannot be mass produced on any assembly line or forced into society by any man-made laws. Build as many jails as you like, it won’t change hearts. God has assigned his church that responsibility to be a light upon a hill and the standard for all to follow, but we are failing miserably. Where is the POWER? The early church turned the world upside down, but not us. The world has turned us upside down! And so much so that were depending on a man like Trump to save us. Sad indeed. Pathetic.

We know where the POWER is, don’t we? But it will cost us. It will cost us “personally”. Who’s willing to pay the price? Evidently not enough of us. At least not yet. How bad will it need to get before we get back to the POWER?

We talked about POWERS in the first episode, and how God gave you some…in your creation… in the primordial supernatural soup he stirred you in. But you think it is silly to consider your gift to teach, or write, or sing, or invent, or lead, or run faster than anyone, or lift more weight… you think it is silly to think of these as super powers that can save some one, or some few, or a multitude? What are your God given POWERS? The reason they can’t save the world is because your using them in your own power, not God’s!

Yes, there is a price. The oil of his anointing. The Day of Pentecost. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Child of God…if you claim his Name…then this is your POWER…but are we the foolish, or the wise? Have we lost all knowledge of the old ways? The magic, the mystery, the paradox, the supernatural!

In the first episode I spoke of my top three super powers. Teacher of God’s word, writer, and working with my hands to remodel homes. I just spent all morning putting new shingles on our roof the old fashioned way, with nail and hammer. No air gun. Just my hammer and a bucket of nails. That super power blesses my wife, and perhaps a few others, but it won’t save the world. However, words on paper, or blog, this thing I’m doing now…it has POWER to INSPIRE! To change hearts and minds! To bring LIGHT! Ignite a FIRE! The message of Christ is the only LIGHT in this world, because it is the message of pure LOVE, and no HATE! It is the message of the changed heart empowered by God!

The sun can shine all day but the world is a dark place because of the hearts and minds of people. And the modern church fails. People are leaving her to find the simplicity of what does not fail. Some would rather walk on water than have a fat bank account. The love of money, the greed, the distractions, the stress, the self-centered mindset, nothing but cement shoes pulling you down, like Peter when he took his eyes off the Lord.

We got to get back to the POWER. For the church, and for God’s people, the POWER is connected to the supernatural. The magic, mystery, paradox, and Spirit of God. The modern church is too lukewarm to know of these things. In our House Fellowship this week, we had another Lord’s Supper, Communion, and prayer to be counted faithful for whatever God may pour out of his Spirit today, and every day! And we did not miss Passover! Which set us up for the Pentecost, but what does our modern church know of these things?

You know, the right song sung by an anointed minstrel of God can change the world. That’s a super power. The right teacher… the right servant…the right mechanic… the right police officer… the right politician… the right plumber (such as Smith Wigglesworth), can potentially change the world when God’s POWER flows through them. The modern church has incredible talent, but who’s writing and singing the songs that’s changing the world? Where is the POWER? It’s not the modern church. What good is your talent without the power of God?

So how do you shine the light of Christ? How does he shine through you? Is it with POWER? Are you willing to pay a price? Are we paying the price, making the sacrifices all Priest are called to make? Or is it just a game with you? Not to be taken that seriously? C’mon now, nobody really lives like that now days, do they? Hhmmm. And that’s why we are where we are today, the whole earth filling with violence and becoming the Days of Noah.

No one fast anymore. No one really prays. No one memorizes chapters of their Bible. No one gives their money away and risk poverty. No one loves to the point of real sacrifice anymore. UNLESS… someone begins to get a vision… and God breathes on us…and breath begins to enliven the dry bones of a dead army! Can the sails of such a mighty ship be filled with heaven’s Wind again? Can these bones live again?

I’ve seen a lot of heroes during these COVID days. But where are the godly? There are a few, but too few. The light of the church is more than showing the light of the “good”, but it is also about the LIGHT of the GODLY. We need to set our bar higher. The world and the worldly are making us look bad. What we see in the earth today, it’s our fault! As the scriptures say: If… “MY”… people…. It’s our fault. I don’t expect unbelievers, or even those who play at being saved, to understand what I’m saying in this article. But an awakening has happened, and there are those who do. Perhaps I write for them.

A final note> It’s time for me to begin reaching out more with our Home Fellowship. We have more room in the house now. Yes, it is still a work in progress, but perhaps there are some who would like to be a part of that. We are located on west side of Indianapolis, Indiana. If you would like to “meet”, simply leave a comment and we will set up a place and time. We’ll enjoy a cup of coffee, some conversation, and go from there. Simplicity is one of our values in this Fellowship. It don’t get much simpler than coffee and conversation. I’ll buy.

We have much more to write on this “Super Powers Series”. More coming soon.