Tag: Reality

“What I want in a Micro/Simple Church” #2

Path Without End

9025 The Sea Change is happening, do you see it? Are you hungry for it? Or resisting the new flow? What? I don’t want people coming in messing up MY house! Oh follower of Jesus, how great your persecution. Only exceeded by your great love for God and people. Last article ended with a prayer for being REAL. Gideon’s 300 will be revealed. Elijah’s 7,000 will be revealed. Disciples of John the Baptist will be revealed. And the fake will be revealed too.

Micro/Simple church is happening and growing! I downloaded 6 books on the subject just yesterday! I slightly changed my title here to include the word “simple” because that is an important part of what I am looking for, not only in our own fellowship, but in any other I may connect with, a getting back to the simplicity of Christ.

Today I will talk about the “Leader”. I have very definite qualities I’m interested in. But first I’d like to note a side thought that just occurred to me today. As Corona Virus seems to be rising again, and many churches are still tossed to and fro as to whether to regather, or not; it occurred to me how most chose to go down the “virtual” road rather than simply break into small home groups for a time.

Our group has been basically unaffected by this virus. Small groups still work. If someone thinks they might be exposed, they simply stay home. Small groups are much more accountable to each other. It’s very easy when everyone knows each other so well. But most churches have chosen a virtual experience rather than close family. What does this say of us? Are we the faith people, or fear people? Are we the self-sacrificing people, or selfish people? Are we true family, or simply another theater as many of us have been saying. When push came to shove, the church resorted to flat screens and video, as they hid in their holes! Any good lawyer could prove a lot with such strong evidence.

I doubt most big churches could even get enough qualified leaders who would meet “God’s standard” to lead a group, because we don’t raise true disciples anymore. I wonder if there would even be enough people to volunteer their homes, if the godly leaders could be found?

So…the church chose to remain the one-man-show. Put the Pastor on TV and we will all set at home and watch the man of God give us our itching ear message as we have become accustomed to. This is the level of our discipleship? Yes…it is…sad to say.

Okay, I won’t ride that horse any further, for now. This is supposed to be about Micro Church Leaders, and actually…it does relate to previous statements in a big way. Just how would “leaders” be chosen? Don’t they have to have “the call” on their life? Don’t they need a Bible degree from a college? How can you expect ordinary lay people to do the work of Pastors?

In Simple Church the answer is simple. Yes, they do need to be “called and gifted” of God, and many of them are! We simply don’t recognize them and put them into action as the Early Church did! When people know each other well enough, as in also having been in their homes and see how they really live, and know their heart, it becomes OBVIOUS who are the ones called of God to be a Bell Sheep. Those whom God has hung a bell around their neck to lead a group in following the Shepherd! That bell becomes obvious to one and all.

But we have complicated everything. Our potential Bell Sheep do not feel worthy because they see the superstar Pastor, they see him preaching the big messages and looking very “successful”, and they disqualify themself. Who am I? (They think.) Unless they have superstar potential, they drop out! But do we forget, scripture is very plain, God doesn’t usually use the superstars? Not many mighty are chosen? Remember all that? Your Pastor living in his mansion and driving expensive cars, eating at fine restaurants? Who has he become? Who does he think he is? Will you follow King Saul and end up dead, like the armor bearer? Or will you follow a David, even though living in caves, and end up bringing the power of God back into the family!

So now you have virtual services. And the superstar is still center stage, even though most of you have never even been in his home for a meal. My past experience was, the bigger the church, the less likely I would ever be invited into the Pastor’s home. Perhaps today’s Christians see nothing odd about that, but the Early Church would have, and for very good reasons we no longer understand.

Hhmmm, this message on “Leaders/ Bell Sheep” has expanded into more than I expected. This is going to require a 2nd part. I still say Jonathon should have taken his armor bearer and joined David. Or at least his armor bearer should have had the good sense to. Do we hear the voice of God, or not? Are we Spirit led, or man led? You stay with King Saul, over David? How have we been so brainwashed?

IN the Early Church, the church Jesus began and the Apostles built, they chose Pastors/Bishops from within their groups. It was that simple. They all knew each other well. Certain “men”, yes… I said “men”, were nominated because of the obvious faithful lifestyle they lived and the talent for teaching and leading they had. If there was an obvious flaw, someone would know. It would be made known. And finally a choice would be made. It was that simple. Simple Church. 

Many of us have not gone to Bible college, but we have sat under teachers and preachers for 40 + years! We have read and studied our Bible, and other multitudes of books by other teachers for many many years! And we have experience! We have assisted Pastors in many ways for many years! What can a Bible college degree add? It does not disqualify you, but neither does it qualify you! We have turned church into a big system of programs, and people into the products revolving over and over again through the doors! It’s complicated, tiring, and shallow! Yes, it is entertaining. We have very talented people, but entertainment is not meant to be church! It’s meant to be up close, personal, and REAL.

So… with these thoughts in mind…I left the church “system” to find Bell Sheep who lead in this way, with these qualities and vision… > to be continued.

9021 Getting back to basics. A Sea Change.

Early Church for the Last Days.

Journey to Micro Church – #4

Path Without End

harney-peak-jpeg There were a few things driving me from our modern Church system. One: The complex and business like nature it had become. I was looking for the simplicity of Christ, not complexity. Jesus was simple and deep, not complex and shallow, and so should his Church be. But most Churches today are completely “program” oriented, rather than the simplicity of flowing in the Holy Spirit.

Two: Along with the business like system, came a constant need for money. Somehow pastors were no longer living by faith and love offerings, as the early church did, but built mansions, ate expensive meals, drove luxury cars, fine clothes, had 401k, retirement funds, investments, and all while preaching about the one who taught us to be nonmaterialistic and help others. These big Churches were money hungry machines teaching a different Jesus than the Apostle Paul taught! (II Cor. 11:3-6)

Third: Jesus shifted us away from stone cold temples to the family warmth of tables in homes. He sat and ate with sinners. He got thrown out of temples. He showed us a Church “family”, not a congregation. But Rome and Constantine took us back into those cold temples, not Jesus, or the Apostles, or the early Church fathers of the first 300 years!

I could make quite a list of reasons, actually. The stage platforms, all the shish, boom, bah, and hype. Manipulation. Etc, etc. But so much of it seems to come back to the ego and pride of man, and a love for money, though they deny all this.

Black Elk experienced this first-hand in his day. Let me continue a couple of his quotes, and it will be very obvious what I’m referring to.

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Black Elk > “But if the vision was true and mighty, as I know, it is true and mighty yet; for such things are of the spirit, and it is in the darkness of their eyes that men get lost.” (Black Elk Speaks – Chapter One).

(Black Elk Speaks – Chapter Seven) > “Afterward I learned that it was Pahuska (General Custer) who had led his soldiers into the Black Hills that summer to see what he could find. He had no right to be in there, because all that country was ours. Also the Wasichus (basically referring to the white man) had made a treaty with Red Cloud (1868) which said it would be ours as long as the grass should grow and water flow. Later I learned too that Pahuska had found there much of the yellow metal that makes the Wasichus crazy; and that is what made the bad trouble, just as it did before, when the hundred were rubbed out.”

It is in the darkness of their eyes that men get lost. I love the way he says that. And the yellow metal that makes the white man crazy! Indeed, indeed. Some things never change, but it ought not be so in the family of God!

The love of money. Ego and money are such temptations for man. I spoke to a lady the other day, who has struggled all her life to keep bills paid, while her Pastor is currently building himself a mansion; complete with vaulted ceilings, spiral staircase, a lake right out the patio doors, I mean really really nice. I asked her what she thought of this? She shrugged her shoulders and said, “Oh well.”

The old story of the King who thought he was wearing fine clothes, but was actually walking around naked, but no one would say anything, because of whatever reasons they may have had, until a young boy asked too loudly, “Why is the King walking around naked?” And the crowd was shocked!

These are a few of the reasons I left and simply went to God’s word in my Bible and began seeking simple truth. It’s there! And early Church fathers verify it all in early records written, and so much more! The fork of the road leading to the Dark Ages is there! And we are repeating much of history today, but for some reason, few there be who are willing to point out the naked king and offer real solutions.

This was all part of my early journey as I sought God in the Black Hills. That book came home with me, from South Dakota to Indiana. I was amazed at the greed, the love of money, the needless slaughter of the bison, the Indian’s food! For the love of money! And I see that same ugliness in our modern religious system! And we shrug our shoulders and say, “Oh well?” I can no longer do that.

I hadn’t been home long when God led me to download 5,000 pages of early Church history and begin my studies. How enlightening it was. Men like Polycarp, disciple of the Apostle John. And events that were taking place at that time. Decisions being made. The path to the Dark Ages, but not till 300 AD!

So how did we stray from a Church that turned the world upside down, to a Church acting like the Roman Empire?! Hhmmm. Well…you can bet pride, power, and money had a lot to do with it. Few there be who was pointing out the naked king, and those who were, were not of the popular opinion, but time certainly proved them right. Those who had wisdom, those who spoke the obvious truth, those who were right, were ignored and pushed aside, their voices silenced!

But today…the Internet…easy access to information, books, historical records… podcasting… the truth is getting out there… knowledge is spreading… some are asking about the naked kings… a revival is building, but not in the big Church buildings. This modern system is too much like a copy of the world. It has become a millstone around our neck showing the world a different Jesus. Not the one who walked Jerusalem in the day, and died on a bloody cross, without a place to even be buried.

Yes, much of what an old Indian before my time had to say, speaks to me. God surprised me with that. Black Elk speaks, and so does God! Of the seven Churches of Revelation, are we Smyrna or Laodicea? The answer seems obvious to me, but not to those still applauding naked kings. It’s time to awaken, light your lamps, and see if your light is true, or dies? When was the last time you got away from all the rat race and shish-boom-bah, and went out somewhere “simple”, alone with God, and heard his “whispers”? This is where my journey to Micro Church began, though at the time, I had no idea.

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How many times have you said, “I’ll be damned?”

Path Without End

Hell, a place originally prepared for the devil and his angels, per Matthew 25:41, and Jesus is very specific about it. 

Also note, these people being sent to hell have failed many acts of LOVE!

Most people don’t “LOVE”. They “love”.

They love self more than they know, and they don’t LOVE nearly as much as they think they do.

They accuse God of not being LOVE, when the whole time they reject following God because he requires a Kingdom of LOVE. Yes, requires. Is that so bad?

God is REAL LOVE. But most people only know selfish love, or human love, so they are no experts on what LOVE is at all, and so their judgement of God is false, while they themselves continue rejecting a life of LOVE.

Why do you think God declares sex without complete commitment is a sin, and not LOVE? Have you considered how selfish sex without total commitment is, and the many possibilities of damaged lives because of it? That’s not LOVE. And yes, because God actually is LOVE, he requires it. But if we choose to reject God’s way of LOVE, then we are choosing a “Being” other than God, which is Satan. We choose every day in every way.

Planet earth is a test. I guess our current Pope does not think God “leads” people to temptation, so he has approved the changing of our Biblical words of the Lord’s Prayer. But it was God who put that one tree in the Garden of Eden, not Adam, or the devil! And Matthew 4:1 still says Jesus was “led” by the “Spirit” (capitol S), into the wilderness to be “tempted” of Satan. And we could give other scripture.

God does lead us to be “tested”, but it is our “own” lust and lack of LOVE that causes us to be “tempted”. How can God prove us without tests? Who gives the test? God. Who brings you into a spiritual classroom and begins handing out a test? God. And why might God do this?

Getting back to the original scripture in Matthew 25:41, I’d say it is because of the devil and those who followed him. Lucifer and the other angels appear to have been created already in possession of heaven and all God’s blessings, and yet Lucifer could not be trusted. He lusted. He chose actions against his very Creator, the One who gave him power and life! He rose up in hate! And he ruined everything! God’s creation at that time. Which is quite possibly how creation is found in the condition it was in, in Genesis 1:1-2. (One theory, anyway.)

So, we see God creating man. He puts him in a beautiful garden. An earthly paradise. But he also plants one tree man is not to eat of. No problem, right? All those other trees! It should not be a temptation, right? But because of some desire in Adam and Eve, they are tempted. They should not be, but they are. God planted the tree, but he did not cause the temptation. We choose.

Had Adam truly LOVED God and his ways, the way he should have, temptation would have been overcome and the test would have been no problem.

But what of us? Do we feel all of God’s “Do Nots” come from a God of hate and judgement? Or do we realize all those “Do Nots” are actually instructions as to what LOVE really is? Do you see it? Thou shalt not steal? Hate? Murder? Commit adultery? Lie? ETC.

Do LOVE even your enemies. Help those in need. LOVE God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself.

Cain asked, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Cain was cursed of God. Our scripture in Matthew 25 shows people who failed to help those in need, living a hard-hearted lifestyle, or sin in God’s eyes, as the ones who choose the kingdom of darkness, rather than God’s Kingdom of Light. It’s our choice and we make that choice every day in our word’s and actions, not words only, but also actions.

So God planted another tree! The cross of Christ. And he LOVED us so much, he was willing to die a horrible death on that tree AT OUR HANDS! Yes, God is LOVE whether you choose to believe or not. And God is RIGHT. We are the ones who are wrong. And it’s His creation anyway! Sheesh! How lame are we???

So how many times have you said, “I’ll be damned?” That is a choice “YOU” are making, not God. Your own words out of your own mouth may be warning you! Our test papers prove our choices, whether heaven or hell, God or Satan. But we do choose. And even though God offers us everything we need to choose LIFE, many there be who choose death, and have the nerve to blame God. What kind of evil is that? What kind of darkness?

Light shines in the darkness, but darkness fails to comprehend.

There are those who will hate me for writing these words and putting the blame where it belongs, on us, not God. They do not want to face the truth, and they will hate me while they claim LOVE, but they only have love, if they even have that? Reality check.

Even these words I have written are not to invite hate. No one enjoys being hated. And it can be very dangerous! Just ask Jesus. But LOVE demands that my words shout about a place called hell, if there be any chance some might be warned, open their eyes to the God of LOVE, and swerve away from the cliff they currently are driving towards at break-neck speed, all the while blaming God.

They do not listen to that voice inside, warning them, verifying truth, because they love their life of darkness. That is the truth they hate to admit. They love darkness rather than light. They proudly take God’s test and declare their rebellion against their very own Creator. What kind of evil is that, to hate the very One who gave you existence, and gave you everything you need to have a truly fulfilled life and eternal future. God has not offered us a dead-end street, but a path without end! It’s our choice.

Such people would only ruin heaven anyway, and God’s not going to allow that to happen again. The POSITIVE side of this message is, God offers His LOVE in abundance! If only you could see that and change course! You will be rewarded immediately! And you will never regret! Not if you are REAL. God is REAL, but are you?

“Yinneythought” for the day.

Path Without End

3toed-sloth-1280x720 King Solomon said: I have watched the way our world works.

A poor, wise man knew how to save the town.

But afterwards no one thought to thank him.

Those who are wise will be despised IF THEY ARE POOR. 

Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person than the shouts of a foolish king.

Highlights of Ecclesiastes 9:13-17

God still speaks highly of the poor, just check the Beatitudes, but do we? Is it possible to be poor, and wise? Is it possible that in the eyes of God, the poor are more wise? Let your moderation be known in all things. And remember Lot’s wife.

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A Borrowed Tomb.

Path Without End

5838 Not too many people can “borrow” a tomb. As far as I know, all but one had to have another tomb just a little later.

As the Passover continues and the body of Jesus lay in the grave through this day, I still have my symbolic blood on my doorpost. Our Christian Passover meal and Fellowship was absolutely wonderful last night. And people driving past my house will see the red on the door until tomorrow.

Every holiday seems to have its own symbols. When we think of Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Years, or even Halloween, be that as it may. But the real Passover starts with the Lord’s Last Supper with his faithful guys, except for Judas, whom he exposed early on and Judas left the table. So before any symbol of Easter bunnies can show up at my house, we have the red cloth on the door post. Maybe we can start a new way of declaring Easter weekend. I think this really says it all.

Our above picture shows an open door. My wife took that picture, and until I saw her version with the open door, I really hadn’t thought about it. There is a doorway to the Kingdom of God that ONLY the blood of Jesus opens! If you want to try and tell God you have something just as good or better than the blood of his first begotten Son… good luck with that! I wouldn’t touch that with a 1,000 foot pole!

The blood of Christ has opened a door that is eternal, and it is the doorway to an eternal Kingdom. Our modern American Church likes to short-cut the Passover, cram it into one day and celebrate the resurrection more than the death. It short-cuts the Lord’s Supper into something that would not even be a good snack. And the man-made tradition of Lent even prevents a person from having lamb meat on Good Friday, which prevents a Passover meal altogether!

How have we come to such obvious perversions of our Lord’s most sacred mission? The modern church king has no clothes! Laodicea! Shame be on us! May God forgive our total lack of concern and preoccupation with our worldly agendas!

As a good friend of mine likes to say, “traditions of man” won’t get you to heaven, but they can certainly get you to hell. Think about it. Be REAL this Passover. Discover the REAL Jesus. He’s very awesome!

 

“Yinney” – Chapter 21

Path Without End

Sloth-Hanging-Out_300x300 Yinney was just preparing to head out on his first six day journey to tell others in the neighborhood about his 7th Day Tree and invite all seekers of peace to visit and have spiritual discussions. However, his plans were suddenly interrupted when Lu-Lu, Me-Me, and Jo-Jo came flying into the tree with wings all a flutter!

“Yinney! Don’t go yet! We think we got it!” Lu-Lu blurted out.

Yinney became motionless except for three slow blinks of his eyes as he tried to understand what the three macaws were talking about? First he blinked one time, then a second, and a slow third. “You got what?” he finally asked.

“We got a name for our Fellowship!” Jo-Jo loudly declared.

“Ohhhh, wonderful! Let’s hear what you have come up with this time? Surely it must be a good one to be as excited as you are.”

“Yes! Yes!” all three happily agreed. “It is the best one yet! It perfectly fits the theme of our message and Fellowship. And with you about to go out witnessing, teaching, and inviting, it would help if you have a name for the Fellowship!”

All three macaws were talking at the same time, but he heard every word and was delighted they were taking such an interest. “Okay, what have you got?”

Suddenly the birds went totally quiet, starring at each other with blank faces.

“We never decided who would make the announcement,” Lu-Lu pointed out.

“I think you should, Lu-Lu,” Jo-Jo said. “You’ve been here the longest.”

“Oh but I couldn’t,” she declared. “That would not be fair. We all worked on this. We all prayed about it. We all agreed it was from God. And Me-Me really thought of it first.”

“But you’re the leader,” Me-Me immediately countered.

Yinney watched in amazement as the macaws debated the issue at a speed he could only dream of. Fortunately, there was no schedule to his journey. This was part of his way, a sacred way, the beauty of slow, in which one can always take the time to appreciate the simple things, like enjoying friends just the way they are.

“We could draw straws,” Me-Me suggested.

“Yes! Lets draw straws! I’ve always wanted to do that! It’s on my bucket list!” Jo-Jo excitedly declared. “The short straw makes the announcement!”

“But why is it the short straw that always is the one?” Me-Me asked. “Why not the long straw?”

Or the middle straw!” Lu-Lu added.

The entertainment continued as the bright blue birds flew about gathering three twigs. Then it required another big decision as to who would mix the twigs and hold them. It ended up being Jo-Jo. Finally it was decided it would be the middle straw. Then the macaws drew. After a very diligent comparison, it was decided Me-Me had the middle straw and would give the announcement.

“Ahem!” she cleared her throat signifying she was about to make the announcement. “We believe…as in us three believe…that being Lu-Lu, Jo-Jo, and I, that a very excellent name for our Fellowship would be…wait for it….wait for it… ”

“Oh come on, Me-Me! Just say it!” Lu-Lu ordered.

“The Fellowship of the 7th Day!”

Now everyone was quiet again. A small gleam could be seen growing brighter and brighter in Yinney’s eyes as he meditated upon the possible name. Other names had been proposed over that past week or so, but all were rejected. This was the longest he had pondered. The macaws grew more anxious the longer he took. Was it really taking him this long, or was he exercising them in patience? One could never be sure with Yinney.

“Are you looking for an answer now?” he asked.

“YES!!!” all three birds loudly responded.

“Well I love it. It’s perfect,” he said. “We shall be known as the ‘Fellowship of the 7th Day’, because God finished all his work in six, and then entered REST on the seventh. Adam and Eve were created on that sixth day, and then entered into God’s REST with him on the seventh. And in that 7th Day REST they lived, resting in God’s finished work, until the rest was destroyed by their betrayal. Yes, it is a very nice summation of the heart of our message. Well done Macaws! I will go forth with our new name, the Fellowship of the 7th Day!”

The macaws were clapping and slapping each other on the back. They were so happy. “We knew it was the one!” they shouted. Yinney declared they should share drinks and celebrate the new name. There was no hurry to his leaving. And so they did.

Only God can watch the drama playing all over the earth at the same time. The individual lives experiencing joy or sadness; pleasure or pain at any given moment. God was aware of Jerry celebrating his latest big deal over a drink at the bar, and he was aware of Dorothy, Jerry’s wife, home alone and bored.

He also saw Rachel tossing and turning in bed, trying to sleep after eye-witnessing an execution. Even the sleeping pill wasn’t working. He saw Clara as she heard her mother get back up and go to the kitchen. He saw Frank leaving the scene of the crime, climbing back into his car and beginning to drive. He would slowly cruise by Rachel’s apartment, wishing he could go in and comfort her, but that would need to wait, still eight hours away.

He saw the macaws up late still working on the Fellowship name, because they wanted Yinney to have it as he went forth. He would watch them share that name with great joy that next morning, as Frank and Rachel drank coffee at a simple table, and she tried to understand how people can be so cruel.

There were no easy answers. At least none that man wanted to accept, as God watched it all, and brooded over his children, both saved and lost alike.

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Church Pressure?

Path Without End

20180626_141820 20180626_155059 This is my oldest grandson, Gabriel, whom I have given the name, “FireKeeper”. He has helped me with the Teepee fire more than any other.

There will not be a Sunday message from this site this week, because my wife and I are leaving Indiana tomorrow and headed to Georgia for a special Baptism. FireKeeper wants to be baptized, and he is currently in Georgia with his dad, our 2nd born son. We will be bringing him back to Indiana with us, where his mother lives, because school is about to start. I consider this to be a very special trip, and event, which I am looking very forward to, and greatly honored to be the one doing the baptism.

FireKeeper does not know this, but he does know I also teach a thing called being Samurai for Christ. On the way back from Georgia, we will be stopping in Pigeon Forge at a very special sword and knife store to buy him a Samurai sword to mark his special day. As a young boy I trained him with wooden samurai sword. We hung milk cartons from tree limbs, surrounded him with them and turned him loose! He’s not the only grandchild I have done this with. But I use the sword as an analogy of God’s Word, and training ourself in the Sword of the Spirit!

So I am about to be very busy for next 4 days, and we will have pictures of the event, including the sword, next article. But today I need to talk about Justin Martyr and the Constantine Church pressure, also being the early Roman Catholic Church.

Justin Martyr was a very special person I have great respect for, But I do believe he must have succumbed to the church pressure of the day in order to write such an erroneous statement as quoted below. As you read this, ask yourself how anyone could have written such a thing and not be aware of its blatantly obvious error for all to see?

“But Sunday is the day in which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day  on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday), and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration.”

Also note he put “Sun”, in a capitol letter, as if a god. This really amazes me as Justin seems to be a very intelligent man in his writings, this being the one known as his first apology. But besides the capitol “S” on Sun, there is also the obvious contradiction of Jesus plainly stating he would rise on the 3rd day, not two! He was crucified on Friday, even as the Passover Lamb was also being slain. However, this shift would seem to somehow glorify the sun god, or somehow connect Jesus to the sun god, the chief god of Rome! This is a very strange mistake made by an otherwise sensible man!

So how is it good people end up compromised into “sun worship” in the church? Justin Martyr even went on to die for his faith in Christ. He was offered a simple beheading as a sacrifice to the gods, but if you refused to sacrifice to the gods (with your head), then you were tortured before being sacrificed. Evidently he chose torture. What an amazing faith!

As a young man Justin sought for answers, and most of his seeking was very philosophical. However, nothing seemed to provide him with real answers until it is said he had a chance encounter with an old man, possibly a Syrian Christian, who engaged him in a conversation about God and spoke of the testimony of the prophets being more reliable than the reasoning of philosophers. The old mans words are quoted as such…

“There existed, long before this time, certain men more ancient than all those who are esteemed philosophers, both righteous and beloved by God, who spoke by the Divine Spirit, and foretold events that would take place, and which are now taking place. They are called prophets. These alone both saw and announced the truth to men, neither reverencing, nor fearing any man, not influenced by a desire for glory, but speaking those things alone which they saw and which they heard, being filled with the Holy Spirit. Their writings are still extant, and he who has read them is very much helped in his knowledge of the beginning and end of things, and of those matters which the philosopher ought to know, provided he has believed them. For they did not use demonstration in their treatises, seeing that they were witnesses to the truth above all demonstration, and worthy of belief; and those events which have happened, and those which are happening, compel you to assent to the utterances made by them, although, indeed, they were entitled to credit on account of the miracles which they performed, since they both glorified the Creator, the God and Father of all things, and proclaimed the Son, the Christ (sent) by Him: which, indeed, the false prophets, who are filled with the lying unclean spirit, neither have done nor do, but venture to work certain wonderful deeds for the purpose of astonishing men, and glorify the spirits, and demons of error. But pray that, above all things, the gates of light may be opened to you; for these things cannot be percieved or understood by all, but only by the man to whom God and His Christ have imparted wisdom.”

Wow…that was a lot…but also VERY AWESOME! According to history, Justin’s life was changed by this encounter and conversation. He then became an apologist for the Church. Now the time period he was born and lived is important, because he lived during the great debate of Bishop Polycarp of Smyrna and Bishops of Rome concerning the changing of the Lord’s Supper and Passover meal. Polycarp died 155 A.D. Justin lived 100-165 A.D. Obviously he must have bought into the Rome leadership, but when you read what he wrote concerning “Sunday” and Saturn-day, any normal person can see the very obvious errors both in math and doctrine! Including worship of false gods! The very chief gods of Rome! Worship that is still very much alive today!

So how does one understand such obvious error? I don’t know, but are we doing the same thing today? Are we guilty of the same Ezekiel 8 worship that God left Jerusalem because of? God moved his Presence to the exiles! God listed these Rome Church worships as top of his list of detestable things! Is it a small thing to change the Lord’s Supper, as described by Paul and maintained through Polycarp? And if it happens to be a master pattern for God’s church? Did not Jesus emphasis the Table and fellowship? Did not even our Book of Acts description of church emphasize the table and fellowship? We would do well to examine these things.

Okay, I think I’ve said enough for you to either see the truth, or do further study on your own. The ball is in your court, as they say. What will you do with it? I was at that same fork in the road only a few months ago. Ever since then, I’ve been revealing and preaching these things to anyone willing to listen.(LOL) (Noah complex.)

So… no message this Sunday…but pictures of a special baptism coming next article…and we likely move from the Belt of Truth and Helmet of Salvation to…? Not really sure. God will certainly lead as to the next piece of the Armor of Light we appreciate and admire!

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