No Gate Keepers

October 13, 2011 by 1 Comment

I can’t even begin to tell you how annoying it is to hear Christians say, “If you don’t believe the bible is 100% accurate, then throw the whole thing out!”

Seriously? You want people to quit on Jesus that easily? You really want them to throw the whole bible out if they say they don’t believe it’s 100% accurate? The bible doesn’t have to be 100% accurate to have a positive effect on someone.

It’s perfectly acceptable if someone accepts Jesus, but sets some bible passages on a shelf to ponder at a later date. After all, the bible isn’t part of the Trinity.

But sadly, some people are under the assumption that Jesus and the Bible are one in the same. Let me be very clear here… the Bible is NOT God ‘incarnate’ on paper.

Jesus is the Word of God. {John 1:1}

The phrase, “The bible is the Word of God” is totally false. You will NOT find this phrase in the bible at all. But that’s not the main purpose for this article. What I do want to focus on is that far too many Christians are quick to shove people out of Christianity and away from Jesus when they don’t embrace all the same exact doctrines that they do. Why do they think they are the gate keepers?

These misguided people are behaving unkindly under the influence of a stupor that permeates their brain every week. And to be sure that spell doesn’t wear off, they’re asked to come in for more programming at the midweek service. Furthermore, they are told to listen to more spells on CD’s, read them in books, and watch the hypnotic videos on YouTube. And they preach against witchcraft?

umm okay.

I’m just not sure Jesus ever intended that people stand at the gates of the kingdom and require indoctrination to grant them entrance. Is there some magical check list that we’re all supposed to submit to in order to cross the threshold? Last I checked, Jesus and his Bride left the gate wide open and said ANYONE could come in. {Revelation 22:17}

But time and time again, I see people coming in… close to the kingdom gates, thirsty, wearied, and worn…looking for a ray of hope, wrestling with what some ‘pastors’ claim and the be told, “If you don’t believe x,y,z then just throw the whole bible out!” They get told, “If you don’t live according to x,y,z then don’t even bother being a Christian!” They further condemn the hungry with, “God will curse you if you don’t give 10% of your GROSS income to the church.”

They cast away the poor sinners into the streets to leave them to rot in the cold darkness of the world.

And Jesus goes after them! He will not rest until all 100 sheep are gathered into the kingdom.

You see, Jesus doesn’t wait around for you to come, he goes after you.

I’m so sorry that so many misguided people require so much from you to get into the kingdom. What they fail to realize is that Jesus already declared that His kingdom is within you. {Luke 17:21}

No human has any right to keep you out of the kingdom. They have no power to do so. Oh they may think they do, but they’re wrong.

Jesus already granted you citizenship with full freedom to not only enter in, but to live in his kingdom abundantly.

So when people who call themselves Christians get pushy, demanding, legalistic, rude, and indifferent… view that as the yellow caution tape…and stay away from them. They may claim that their way is the light, but it’s really just the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Jesus’ Kingdom has no gate keepers. He left the gate wide open.

Italy by nonpoppop, on Pix-O-Sphere

{photo credit Mike Davis}


Filed Under: Grace Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

The kingdom or the Kingdom

July 6, 2011 by 2 Comments

church by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

Most people wouldn’t think they are sinking in legalism until they are so far in that they lose sight of reality. When one disciples another in the faith, it should be important to teach how to recognize legalism before they get caught up in it. When a frog is placed in a pan of water and you heat it up slowly, it adapts to the water and doesn’t realize it’s being cooked to death. This is what legalism is like. It’s a trap that you don’t recognize when you step into it. Legalism is a deception and so subtle, that’s what makes it’s grip so powerful. The key to understanding how to recognize it is our best defense to not get caught up in it. When it comes to Christianity, it’s the difference between the Christian Religion and the Christian Faith.

Legalism will make you think you’re being welcomed, befriended, entering the “will of God” for your life, it seems like a nice fit, step by step guidelines to make sure you get it right and who wouldn’t want to make sure they’re practicing “Christianity” correctly? When one enters the Christian Religion, they will be informed of what is expected of them and how they can succeed as a “Christian”. You’ll be told to make a decision (convert), get baptized, join the church, and serve God in the church. Somewhere along the lines you’ll learn that you need to pay God a portion of your money and may be required or strongly ‘encouraged’ to take a “new believers” class. Doesn’t sound so bad, what’s wrong with that?

These are just some of the first steps to solidifying your membership in the religion. In the Christian Faith, we became members of the Body, in Christ. Christ does not require that we join a physical membership in order to be part of the community of faith. See the difference yet? It’s by faith that we come to realize that we already are members of the Body. It’s a spiritual Body that we belong to. You’re either a member of a religious community or a faith community, a spiritual Body or a physical Body (made up of several people).

Can a person of faith gather with like minded people and not become part of the Christian Religion?

Yes.

In fact, just because you go to a church doesn’t mean you are following Religion, but it does increase the risk of falling victim to it. I believe many gathering of folks originally intended to be a faith community, but over time the religion found it’s way in to trap them.

If we look at a local ‘church’ as what it is, then it may seem clearer to you what I’m talking about. Any group of believers can rent or buy a building to use for all their gatherings, pot luck meals, activities, etc. There is nothing in the Bible that prohibits this. There is nothing in the Bible that would even suggest that there is anything wrong with this at all. Lets just look at it for what it is though. The scriptures are clear that the Temple is not made of bricks by the hands of men, it is  spiritual Temple within ourselves.

1 Corinthians 6: 19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

John 2: 18So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?

2 Corinthians 6:16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Hebrews 9:24 For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.

Understanding that WE are the “Church”, the Bride, the Body then we can gather wherever we want, but the place in which we choose to gather is not the Temple, the Church, or the Body, it is simply a physical location where the Body happens to gather.

Any group of people can pool together the funds needed to get a building, create an organization of people to take care of it, and they can legally (through a 501c3) and ethically ask for donations to help support it. This would become a community center for your group of believers.

Here’s where it gets tricky. The scriptures do not require that we become part of such an undertaking. It is optional. There is nothing in the scriptures to suggest that you are required by God to join a community endeavor like this, nor are you “cursed” for abstaining from it. It is simply a community center. To call it a “church” would be in violation of the scriptures presented above. The people are the Church, the building is just a building. Having a clear understanding of this is of great benefit to the freedom of a person’s soul. I’m not speaking about our eternal abode in the after life, I’m speaking of the condition of our soul in this life.

When a person who claims to be a spiritual leader tells you that you must:

  • Join this “church”
  • Fund it financially
  • Abide by the requirements of the charter
  • If you don’t, then there are spiritual consequences

Then they are twisting the scriptures and placing a yoke on you that is not required by God.

Here is what they CAN state:

  • This is a community center for people who believe x,y,z.
  • If you would like to become a member of this community center, we ask for a suggested donation to help take care of the building and the staff it takes to manage it.
  • To participate in this building’s activities, we have a dress code to abide by.

Each community building may have more requirements than others and that is their prerogative. It is also your prerogative to deny joining such a membership. If you join such a membership, then violate their membership requirements, then don’t be surprised when you are either asked to leave, or shunned into leaving.

When people mistake their community membership club for the “Church” then they forget to love those who aren’t members there. They become to caught up in their program and in thinking the program and building are “God’s” that it becomes somewhat of a ‘castle complete with a mote and armed guards’ to keep unwanted people out and it’s citizens inside, isolated from the world around them.

They will make war with anyone they perceive as a “threat” to their little kingdom. They have created a religion within their own kingdom and it’s not the Kingdom of God.

Citizens of the Kingdom are spiritual citizens that reside on this earth and they have the freedom to gather wherever they want. They just might decide to become a part of a community center and that is certainly their free choice to do so. Just understand the truth of the matter and don’t get caught up in the web of deception that religion seeks to entrap you in.

Citizens of the Christian Religion may be comprised of people of faith and religious people as well. Understanding how these two types of people operate in their lives and in their kingdoms will help us get a better grasp on the things we see happening around us today. To stay updated on this series, please subscribe via email in the top right side bar.

Filed Under: Legalism Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Resurrected Life

April 25, 2011 by 2 Comments

Today marks the third Resurrection Day that we have not been planted in any one specific gathering. Our journey out of the IC began on a Resurrection Day which we believe to be such a great reminder of what resurrection really means to us. Jesus raised us up with Him on that spectacular day, but so many Christians don’t see the resurrection as an event that took place for all of humanity. So many are sitting in their pews each weekend, begging Jesus to return and take them out of this ‘wretched world’. I used to be just like that. I thought people needed to ‘ask’ Jesus to be their Savior. How silly of me to think Jesus needs us to ‘make’ him the Savior.

eggs by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

We were wrapped up in the church activities following the pattern the preacher said was ‘the only way to raise our families’ that would be ‘pleasing to God’. He promised that raising our kids around the church would ‘work every time’. But the busyness of the church life left us very little time to be a family outside the church property. Our lives were so engulfed in that cycle that we felt like we were drowning our lives into an abyss of circus acts to keep God happy with us. The motivating factor was fear. We followed the ‘laws’ as best we could, according to the preaching, that somehow this was exactly what God wanted of us in order to keep us ‘safe from the world’and to keep him appeased so we wouldn’t be cursed.

But over the years we saw many preachers whose kids suffered in car accidents, cancer, down syndrome, and more. Deacons were cheating on their wives, teen girls were cutting, and teen guys were struggling with homosexuality. This was the ‘church’ we were promised would ‘work every time’ if we raised our kids there.

The concept of the resurrection is to bring life and it was that very day our lives began to make sense. That resurrection day 2 years ago when we were raptured out of the Institutional Church and given wings to fly free.

We finally understood what it meant to have The Spirit be our Teacher and He revealed to us that we ARE the church. We are the Living Stones that our Savior indwells and we began to understand what it meant to be ‘In Christ’.

No longer did I look up at the sky each day with a tear stained face and agonizing prayers for the Lord to return and get me out of this hell hole.

He revealed to me that He already is here with me and this home He has given me was not a hell hole, but a gorgeous garden to be enjoyed. He showed me that His presence is always with me and no need to wait for a ‘return’ when He is already here with us..our very present help in trouble.

He never promised that life would have no tragedies and heart aches, but he did promise to be with us and He is!

There are different perspectives on the ‘snatching away’ that is mentioned in the Bible and various angles on understanding what He meant when the angle said “He will come again”.

We are selling the Savior short to expect that He is only coming at the end of some ‘end of the world’ type of teaching, when He is already here with us now!

I came to understand that I had been living life in a state of unbelief of His very real presence in my life. All my prayers were being sent up to him because as I saw it,  he wasn’t really down here with us. And many times it felt as though my prayers were stopping just short of heaven’s gates and falling helplessly to the earth again, never to be heard by God.

God revealed to me how He resurrected me WITH Christ that glorious day.

Colossians 2:11In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

I have been seated with him in the heavenly places since before I was born, I just hadn’t realized it yet.

I thought I had to do something to ‘get’ resurrected.

Here I was, hearing Him tell me that I was already raised with Him.

I had been in Christ all along and hadn’t known it.

How could I have possibly missed this for so long?

Maybe listening to someone tell me for many years that Jesus is not here yet, that I am worthless, and have to do all these religious works to make God happy with me, was part of the problem. I was told I had to die first before I could be resurrected and that would not happen until the end of the world.

He had opened my eyes and revealed his amazing presence in me and removed the veil of deception from my eyes and all of a sudden this world looked more beautiful than I had ever seen it before.

Life seemed to be so much more brilliant than I could have ever imagined.

The trees seemed greener, the clouds were refreshing, and the flowers so vibrant!

trees by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

The rain no longer made me sad, I now saw it as an opportunity to feel the moisture sprinkle on my face and collect the sweet drops on my tongue. It became a gift from Him.

The dry summer heat no longer angered me. It made the creek so much more enjoyable as I waded into the cool current to be refreshed.

The snow no longer frustrated me, I now took it as an opportunity to snuggle under warm blankets with my children and sipped hot cocoa.

Everything I had once saw as a negative thing was turned into a reason to be thankful and He made me to see the beauty in it all.

Because my resurrection had given me a new perspective on this life in Christ.

Today, this third Resurrection Day in our freedom, was enjoyed with my family. We slept in until 9am, woke up to fresh brewed coffee, and enjoyed watching our children wake up to a basket filled with candy.

We savored pancakes topped with butter, hot peaches, and blueberries drizzled with syrup.

We decided to go out and enjoy the earth God has given us. We parked the van and walked along the bike path near the park where wild flowers reached up towards the sun. The fragrance was amazing!

wildflowers by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

We listened to birds chirp, watched butterflies pollinating, heard thunder crack as the clouds gathered above us.

trees and sky by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

I removed my sandals and walked into the sandy shore of the creek, dug my toes into the earth and felt the cold water surround my ankles.

sandyshore by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

Life has been happening all these years and we spent them closed up in buildings built by man when we could have been enjoying the life that we have been blessed with walking on this earth that our Creator gave to us.

Closing my eyes, I breathed deeply.

Feeling the cool spring air filling my lungs.

creek by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

Hearing the harmonious song of our feathered friends, my heart was lifted to the skies above me.

We are already seated with Him in heavenly places.

He is here… with us now.

We are alive in Christ!

I no longer look here or there, thinking the kingdom will come in some tangible way, descending from a cloud like Mary Poppins. The kingdom is here..with us now.

I don’t want to miss one single day of living in this kingdom.

God doesn’t expect me to obey a bunch of church laws in order to keep myself safe in a tragedy free bubble.

Life isn’t tragedy free, but through tragedies we learn grace, mercy, and love in ways only found in the kingdom.

In this resurrected life we can embrace tragedies and be thankful that all things work together for good.

He raised me with him over 2,000 years ago and He raised you too.

Open your eyes and behold… the day of the Lord has always been with you.

God isn’t mad at you, He loves you!

He embraces you every step of the way.

Christ did everything needed to reconcile us to Father and we get to be the partakers of this life in Him.

He loves you as you are.

Wake up to Your Soul Lover!

You’ve already been resurrected. Walk in the reality of it!

2 Corinthians 5: 18All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

flowers by sisterlisa, on Pix-O-Sphere

{All my photos hosted and shared at Pix-O-Sphere}

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