The Western style of gathering the Church into congregations has a pulpit as the center of activity. Modern versions have, in some cases, replaced the pulpit with a stool and table, but the activity is the same: monolog from a preacher is the main event during meetings. Most denominations approve of the existence of pastors, teachers, and evangelists. Other ministries, like apostle or prophet or miracles, are a little too […]
Monthly Archives: February 2018
The Priesthood of All Believers
“The priesthood of all believers” is a phrase that has been used to allow all believers to pray. It is a contradiction to the idea that everyone needs to employ the Heavenly access that only a person has who has been elevated to the earthly status of “priest,” or their prayers will not be heard by God. This implies that everyone but the priests are just peasants in the Kingdom of Heaven. When the leadership of […]
Commitment and Cost
When lawyers took over the religious aspects of the nation of Israel, the two major parties were the Sadducees and the Pharisees. They argued about orthodoxy (“right opinion”), and made laws about what could be believed. Since they disagreed about what should be believed, the strongest party always shifted the “truth” toward their opinion. In Germany, under the leadership of Hitler, many Germans, both military and civilian, gave as their defense […]
An Inheritance
What it means in practical terms to “inherit the Kingdom of God” is not spelled out in Scripture as clearly as how to miss the inheritance is. A basic layer to God’s grace to us is that we can be born of Him by faith, transforming our spiritual lives into having the strength to access abundance and the power to overcome evil. We can overcome the evil in our own hearts […]
Back Seat Driver
But now you must also put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his practices and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of his Creator. (Colossians 3:8-10 Holman Christian Standard Bible®©) If you are driving well and have to […]
Love Overflow
And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you can determine what really matters and can be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11 Holman Christian Standard Bible®©) Here is a mystery. How can my love grow until […]
Finding Grace
Somewhere between the boldness that is based on our relationship with Jesus and the humility that is based on what that relationship cost Him, we will find all of the grace – the power to live, the power of provision and protection – that we need to successfully be His people in the earth. Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens—Jesus the Son of […]