For longer than I have been paying attention, people have been saying that the return of Jesus could be any day now, because all the signs have been fulfilled. Time is short. Peter seems to have encountered people who thought it should have happened already even while he was on the earth. He wrote that the Lord is only seeming to be delaying His return because He is being patient, […]
Category Archives: Church
Orderly Meetings
But everything must be done decently and in order.(1 Corinthians 14:40 Holman Christian Standard Bible ©®) That sentence has been used by many people in my hearing to try to control the amount of investment that can be made by “folks in the pew” in a meeting. Various invocations of it have produced different rules, like these: • 1 prophetic word per meeting, and have the pastor judge it before […]
Study and Devotion
One of the greatest weaknesses of the institution we call the church is that it compels us to a greater allegiance to its doctrines than to its Head. More time is spent in some circles teaching adherents how to defend themselves from Baptists and Methodists and Pentecostals and Roman Catholics than is spent teaching how to become more profitable servants of the King. Continually increase your devotion to Jesus and […]
Burn!
It seems to be a pitiful shame that today we have a hundred English versions of the Hebrew Scriptures, with the added value of the New Testament, and two thousand years of church history to tranquilize us from listening to the Holy Spirit. He is all the first century believers had, so they weren’t distracted from turning their world upside down. Blessed, apparently, are believers in the earth who are […]
James the King and the IRS
Neither the Republican Party nor the Democratic Party have as their agendas the process and structure of an honest, generous governance of the United States. Some individuals in each party probably do, but the two-party structure that operates as our government exists with the twin goals of control and profit. When “Obamacare” was legislated into existence, the greatest number of new employees in the government to enforce it was added […]
Out of Egypt
One of the most powerful hindrances to our ability to hear the Spirit speaking to us and to our strength to thereafter obey what He says is our religious heritage. We are programmed to believe certain religious practices and objects and designs have spiritual value. Some of what we value is actually very costly liability. We are taught by our denominational headquarters that our collection of favorite teachings and habits […]
Missing Egypt
The entire Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. Instead, you brought us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of hunger!” (Exodus 16:2-3 Holman Christian Standard Bible ©®) The comfort we […]
Building His Ekklesia
One day, Jesus took His disciples North of the land Jews felt comfortable in, to Caesarea Philippi. There, still today, is a cliff with a pool of spring water before it called “the rock of the gods.” On the day Jesus led the field trip, the water was flowing from a cave, and was called a “gate of Hades.” Such flows of water from underground were considered in Greek and […]
Love One Another
“I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35 Holman Christian Standard Bible ©®) Suppose the only real evidence that we are disciples of Jesus is that we can prove we love each other.
One With Jesus
Unity is one of the most powerful forces humanity has access to. For believers to come to a place of maturity and power in the earth, unity will be required. That unity won’t be found by trying to find it with each other. Unity with each other will be found by trying to find it with the Spirit of Jesus. … until we all reach unity in the faith and […]