It is a well known fact that the church is often referred to as the "Body of Christ." But with the word "church" being seen as a building where people go to worship God, how do we define the "Body of Christ?" If He has a body on earth, how has it come into being? And how do we identify it? What is unique about it? If it is actually the body of the living and all-powerful Christ, how does it function in the earth? Is there a false body of Christ? What is the difference between the true and the false? As we often say, the Bible has the answer.

There are many passages quoted throughout this article. Please read them all. It is so easy to skip over some we recognize as having read many times, and we think we know what they say. But to hear what the Lord is saying to us today, let us take time to read every word.

What Christ's body is not

How many are there who consider themselves a part of the Body of Christ? How many of the countless denominations and sects believe they are the called and chosen, seeing themselves as the Lord's elite because they have the truth? The Lord's body is not fractured, as we will discover here. It is not made up of throngs of people who go chasing after the signs and wonders or emotionally charged ministers who appeal to their itching ears. Of such ministers, Peter said, "For, uttering great swelling words of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error; promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he also brought into bondage." (2 Peter 2:18-19 RV) And of those who have followed these false teachers, Peter then said, "For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first."

Would the Lord have had Peter and others speak so clearly about false teachers and their followers if He considered them to be true members of His Body? Do we think it doesn't grieve Him to see what is happening more so today than at any other time? If they choose to follow others and to follow their own fleshly desires in the name of Christianity, they are choosing not to be a part of His Body–while at the same time, they believe they are.

Most of those who believe they are born again Christians own and read a Bible. This would include the false teachers and false prophets, expounding with great eloquence their manipulative but deceiving messages from God's Word.

By "Bible" we don't mean any one particular version; they have all been influenced by the bias of the translators who try to make 'good English' composition out of old language words. Add to that the interpretation of the mind of flesh, and a Bible can mean almost anything one desires.

The true Bible is the God-breathed words that were heard by the scribes of old, and now, thousands of years later, only the Spirit of God can reveal the truth of the written word. Without Him, our minds of flesh will too easily see the Bible as a book of rules by which to live.

For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is removed in Christ. But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. But whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. ~ 2 Corinthians 3:14b-16 EMTV

The same can be said for reading the New Testament–if one believes he is born again but remains flesh because of a false conversion at the hands of those proclaiming a false gospel. Or maybe he/she has become hardened to the voice of the Spirit, having once known His presence, and now sees the Bible only through eyes of flesh. That kind of thing will cause us to become judgmental and dogmatic–anything but Christ-likeness.

This is but a sampling of what Christ's body is not. So, let's look at . . .

How the Body of Christ came into being

All true believers in Christ Jesus, who have been born again [anew], become a part of the Body of Christ. Jesus told Nicodemus, "Except a man be born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God. . . . That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born anew.'" (John 3:3b; 6-7) Paul spoke of the same when he said, "Wherefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17) We must include Paul's words to those at Rome. "But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His." (Romans 8:9)

Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about seeing the kingdom of God, that it cannot be, until and unless a man is born anew. With the new birth, an amazing thing transpires! "And being asked by the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God would come, he [Jesus] answered them and said, 'The kingdom of God comes not with observation [Greek: 'ocular evidence']: neither shall they say, Lo, here! or, There! for lo, the kingdom of God is within you'." (Luke 17:20-21)

Jesus Christ comes by His Spirit to dwell in us! He is the Head and we are His Body. It is His kingdom, and He reigns! He cares for and nourishes us, as we see in Paul's words to the Ephesians.

So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loves his wife loves himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the Lord the ekklesia: for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the ekklesia. ~ Ephesians 5:28-32 (paraphrased with Greek meanings)

To whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory; whom we proclaim, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect [Greek: 'complete'] in Christ Jesus; ~ Colossians 1:27-28 EMTV

The Greek word for "mystery" is defined, by Thayer, as "a hidden or secret thing, not obvious to the understanding." In every verse in the New Testament where mystery occurs, we see it has the same meaning. Two such verses are these, which refer to the mystery of godliness and the mystery of iniquity.

2. "For the mystery of lawlessness [Greek: 'wickedness'] is already at work; only He who now restrains will continue until one comes out of the midst." (2 Thessalonians 2:7 EMTV)

The phrase "received up in glory" is more accurately translated in the ASV. The KJV used the word "into", which is incorrect, and suggests that glory is a place. This has led to songs being written and beliefs being held that glory is another name for heaven. The Greek definition for in is "a fixed position/a relation of rest."

So when Jesus prayed for His own, He said, "And the glory [Greek: 'glory, as very apparent'] which You have given to Me, I have given to them, so that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; so that they may be perfected in unity, and so that the world may know that You have sent Me, and You loved them just as You loved Me." (John 17:22-23 EMTV)

In a day when so many are feverishly trying to please God through efforts of self, which really only impress others, this is what the Lord desires of us:

Therefore, brothers, I exhort you through the compassions of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable [Greek: 'logical'] service. And do not fashion yourselves after this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and well pleasing and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself too highly, beyond what you should think, but to think soberly, as God has imparted to each one a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. ~ Romans 12:1-5 EMTV

After presenting our bodies a living sacrifice and allowing the Holy Spirit to have His way in us, Paul's advice in this passage is fitting.

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God. ~ Colossians 3:1-3 EMTV

We must look closely at the very next verse. " When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested [Greek: 'be rendered apparent'] in glory. (Colossians 3:4 RV) "In glory" does not mean in heaven. The same word meanings for "manifest" (appear) and "in" glory, as we covered earlier, apply here as well. Now let's look at Paul's words spoken immediately following the previously quoted passage where he tells of the veil being lifted.

Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. ~ 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 EMTV

Those words in bold print tell us what the true Body of Christ should look like.

It is only by the Spirit of the Lord that the real Body of Christ is visible. And the fruit of that same Spirit will be evidence of His presence–not just one attribute (if we could call it that), but ALL. All fruit of the Holy Spirit is seen in a true member of Christ's body. What do we see in that mirror? Are we being transformed into His image from glory to glory? What fruit is evident to those around us?

The living body

The Body of Christ is a living organism. As Head of the body, Jesus Christ is the Life source. His Spirit is the Power by which the Body functions. There are no divisions–only unity in the faith. "There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all." (Ephesians 4:4-6 EMTV)

There is no need for elaboration on many of the passages quoted. Even with our English language and its deficiencies in translating from the old languages, the message is very clear. This one, for example, needs no comment.

For just as the body is one and has many parts, but all the parts of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free–and we were all given to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one part but many. ~ 1 Corinthians 12:12-14

And the passage goes on to speak of the functions of the various parts of the human body, then continues on with. . .

But now God has set the parts, each one of them, in the body just as He desired. And if all parts were one part, where would be the body? But now indeed there are many parts, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." But to a greater degree the parts of the body which seem weaker are necessary. And the parts of the body which we consider to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater propriety. But our presentable parts have no need. But God united the body, giving greater honor to the part being inferior, lest there be divisions in the body, but the parts care the same for one another. And if one part suffers, all the parts suffer together; or if one part is honored, all the parts rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. ~ 1 Corinthians 12:18-27 EMTV

This passage describes the function of some parts of Christ's Body:

And he gave some to be apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the building up of the body of Christ: till we all attain unto the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a fullgrown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error; but speaking truth in love, may grow up in all things into him, which is the head, even Christ; from whom all the body fitly framed and knit together through that which every joint supplieth, according to the working in due measure of each several part, maketh the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love. ~ Ephesians 4:11-16 RV

A few more thoughts

Is life then a bed of roses where we experience nothing but wonderful things? Do we walk in prosperity and health as described by the word of faith crowd? Was Jesus loved by everyone? Was He respected by those in authority? No, we know He wasn't; He was persecuted and viciously beaten before He died on the Cross. Do we have a right to expect anything better? "Yea, and all that would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." (2 Timothy 3:12 RV) "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God." (Romans 8:18-19)

But we have this treasure in clay vessels, so that the extraordinary character of the power may be of God and not of us; in everything being oppressed, yet not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; cast down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, so that also the life of Jesus may be revealed in our body. For we who are living are always handed over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifest in our body. 2 Corinthians 4:7-11

The true Body of Christ practices daily the giving over of self to the crucifying power of the resurrected and living Christ. Their whole desire is for Him to be manifested in them, so that they are being changed from glory to glory.

The false body of Christ is taken up with the things of this life, being watchful to always follow the rules of the Bible, which they are comfortable with. It may be that the ones they are not comfortable with, they will apply to others with whom they don't agree. This admonition to the true Body may well be describing them and their actions.

Therefore do not let anyone judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or of a new moon or of sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ. Let no one rule against you, desiring to do so in false humility and in worship of the angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, in vain being puffed up by his carnal mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, supported and joined together by joints and ligaments, grows with the growth of God. If you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you submit to regulations–"Do not handle, nor taste, nor touch," things are all for corruption with the using, according to the commands and teaching of men? These things indeed have a reputation of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and severity on the body, but are not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh. ~ Colossians 2:16-23 EMTV

The false body of Christ are those who seek to follow signs and wonders, as though Christ is here or there. This is where so much deception has crept in. Too many "signs and wonders" are the lying ones of which Paul spoke in 2 Thessalonians 2:9. Jesus said that signs will follow those who have fully put their trust in Him. Why is that? Because He dwells in them, and it is His work!

We must aspire to walk in perfect oneness with Christ, emptied of self and humbly submitted to the Holy Spirit. What a glorious sight Christ's Body is, as He is manifested in her! When she is looked upon by those in the world, all that will be seen is Jesus. There will be no question as to her identity.

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Don’t let the media make a fool out of you, they are playing Satan’s game, and they will lose.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jV6DVk04HkM

Jer 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

Eccl 9:3 ” …The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live, and afterward they join the dead.“

Ps 10:2-4 “In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.  He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.  In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.“

Matt 15:19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander”

Rom 1:24 “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts…“

Our hearts are wicked and as Jeremiah said, deceitful above all things. It is, according to Jeremiah, beyond cure!

Yet, God, “…desirest truth in the inward parts.” Ps 51:6.

The fact of our blindness to truth is established easily. Every attitude of the heart is geared to manipulate, defraud, cheat, steal, or influence for our own gain. The motivating force of our life is our human nature of lust and pride. 1Jn 2:16 “For everything in the world‑‑the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does‑‑comes not from the Father but from the world.“ We are creatures of this world, and we are governed by the inherited nature of Adam, that is the fact. A child, almost instantly, discovers how to get its way. This blindness does not stop with the secular world, but is manifested in its most brilliant form in the religious world.  Left unrestrained by penalties and punishment,  men will commit the most heinous crimes against society or God.

It is onto this stage that Jesus came, as the Son of God. Into this depraved world, Truth has come. Jesus called himself the Truth – “I am…the truth“; “To this end have I come into the world, that I should bear witness onto the truth.” The Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth, and God is called the God of Truth. The Godhead is characterized by this one blunt feature – truth!

Two types of truth exist in the world today. There is the prevalent truth that dominates, and that  we see in operation all around us, every day, and at all times. This truth is the truth of the world, which has to be kept in check by rules of morals and ethics. Then there is true truth. True truth is hidden and is very rare. It is this truth that God requires in the inward parts. But, where do we find something so rare?

The Truth of This World is Evil, and Satanic

Rules and ethics are not of the truth, but are mechanisms to keep men in check, to induce civility, but they cannot make men holy. God’s rules instruct us, and point to Jesus.  Satan is a liar and the rules he institutes are cover-ups, designed to hide the evilness of man’s heart so he appears just, honest, humble, forgiving, contrite, and faithful. “The god of this age,” says Paul, “has blinded the eyes of the unbelieving.” Man is a blind, deceived creature, but God still desires “truth in the inward part.“

Systems of religion, including Christianity, that operate on these rules, and put on programs, rituals, and outward show, are false, they are not true, they are lies. The religions of this world are built on the world’s truth, and for institutional Christianity, that means unbelief. The goodness caused or the evil prevented, by obeying rules, does not qualify as the goodness required by God.

The distinguishing characteristic and motivation behind the truth of this world, that is woven deep into the fabric of organized religion, is a natural personal interest and consideration, viewing things in the light of our own advantage or disadvantage. A life based on this truth is not faith, this is unbelief and rebellion against God’s promises and provision. This is the position that Israel occupied, and they were found to be unbelievers, and it was that very thing that blinded them. They had faith in a truth that was based on natural personal interest, and built a religious system on that foundation. They allowed their flesh to dictate how they worshiped and how they defined faith. When their actions are examined carefully it is found that they were building on ground that was cursed by God.

There is no light in all the world, it is a blind thing; all of nature is blind. To the degree that we govern and build our lives by the motivation of this world is the degree of our own blindness. 1Cor 2:14 “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God…he cannot know them, because they are spiritually discerned.“

Mark 10:42,43 “But Jesus having called them to him, says to them, Ye know that those who are esteemed to rule over the nations exercise lordship over them; and their great men exercise authority over them; but it is not so among you.“

Faith, based on true truth, has absolutely nothing to do with organized religion. Any use of the world’s ways is unbelief, and not faith. Marketing, management, manipulation, are all the ways of the men of this world to gain an advantage over others. Exaggerations and false statements are the life of marketing and advertising. Perceived value is a con, it is not real value, it is a lie. Branding is a form of mind control. Loss-leaders are tricks to sell more expensive items. Creative Strategy is the use of tone, and message to separate a customer from his money. Copywriters and art directors are hired to create desire and wants. Headline; a concise statement to lure you into an advertisement. Eye tracking, a study of how your eyes look at advertisements. Holding power, the ability to prevent viewers from switching channels. Persuasion Process; the process of twisting an audience to purchase through emotion or reason. Positioning; how a consumer perceives a product. Psychographics, a study to determine why people buy, and to get the advantage over the consumer. Subliminal Perception, to unconsciously tap a customers mind to influence them to buy. These, and many more, are all the methods of this world to manipulate people for profit or power. Christian leaders are deceived and think they can use these and other tricks to build God’s Kingdom on earth. These things mentioned here are but a drop in the bucket of the many deceptions being used on regular basis in the Church. “I hate,” said David, “every false way.“ We cannot be a lover of truth and hire a marketing professional to set a strategy to build God’s Church. This is the method being used by nearly every organized Church, “…But it is not so among you.“ 2Cor 4:2 “Instead, we have refused to use secret and shameful ways. We don’t use tricks, and we don’t distort God’s word. As God watches, we clearly reveal the truth to everyone. This is our [letter of] recommendation.“

But, this is not the end of the story. It is not just business owners, or churches, or ad agencies, or marketing companies, that use evil methods to gain wealth and power, and to make merchandise the men’s souls, it is you and I. It is only through the discovery of true truth that a beginning is made to live a life of faith in God, motivated by the love of truth to please Him. The make-up you wear, the cloths that send a certain message, the cologne or perfume, the inflection in your voice, the car you drive, the way you walk, the way you smile, the words you use to write your resume, and the list goes on, and on, and on. There is hardly a thing we do that is not consciously or unconsciously geared to gain something for ourselves, or to get the advantage. Our whole life is one with evil. Our lives are lies, a fantasy, a semblance of truth, but it is a lie.  Our hearts have been spoiled and become evil. And, it goes all the way to the top. When you voted for the lesser of two evils last election, you got it right, they are both evil. Our world is doomed, because evil reigns.

One book on marketing states that “everything is marketing.” He is correct. Nearly everything we do is designed to register some sort of effect on another person or persons, and those who have established themselves as the “leaders” use every means available to manage and secure for themselves a bounty of men and women. I believe nearly all of them do it out of ignorance, but nonetheless, they do it.

Faith

We started off asking, where do we find faith in the world, and it is similar to the question that Jesus asked, “will I find faith on the earth when I return.” Obviously faith is a rare thing.

Faith in God seems over simplistic in this age of easy believism. But, how does real faith work? We must have, “truth in the inward parts.“ To have truth in the inward parts means that we have to trust God, that He is able, to do what He said He would do, and that is saving faith.

Christians refuse to separate themselves from the world, but that is a big part of the answer. To separate ourselves means to not participate in the schemes of marketing manipulation, and worldly management practices.  Jesus knew the extent to which men would become involved in the processes of this world. He knew that those processes would be used in building the church. He knew that at the end of the age the church would have become totally absorbed in the world, and that there would be no difference from the world, except the vocabulary. He knew that men would have completely bought into “the Lie.” That “lie” is the fact that men believe that they can build God’s Kingdom using the processes of this world, and only using the word “faith” as a tag line at the bottom of some statement, creed, or confession. Faith is no less than trusting God, just like Moses, Joshua, the Prophets, the Apostles, and some few others who have discovered the “Truth.”

How horrible it will be for you when everyone says nice things about you. That’s the way their ancestors treated the false prophets. Luke 6:26

This is yet another sign of the apostasy of Brian McLaren. In this piece on Brian’s site, he praises an atheist for saying nice things about him, who thinks Brian is the epitome of Christian faith.

Why would an atheist praise Brian McLaren? Well, the answer is easy enough, because Brian is essentially saying the same thing as the atheist, and their goals line up. Atheist and heretics are not offended by Brian’s message, they are brothers traveling the same road. They see Brian as moving into their camp bringing presents (the young and foolish).

The early Church dealt with a similar problem. The religions of the ancient Roman world were all accepted as equally tolerable and equally valuable, and to a large number equally vain, to the Roman people. All the gods were worshiped, and the bond of unity was maintained because every god reigned with equal favor and benefits. It was the Jews first, then the Christians, who violated this universe of unity, by declaring absolutely that there was no other God, but God.

Why were the ancient Christians persecuted?

1. They separated themselves from the world and were accused of being divisive.
2. They accepted as wrong, and idolatrous, every form of religion but the one Christ established.
3. They refused to bow to the Roman leaders and throw a little incense on a Pagan altar, or burn a candle to their gods.
4. They were labeled as “atheist” because they did not believe in the other gods as equal means of salvation.
5. They gave honor to One Who was higher than the Monarch.
6. And, there was one other reason for persecution, it was because of the teaching of the Judas Zealots.  Christianity provided the Zealots with a way to defeat the  government; they were revolutionary Jews who hated Roman rule, and Christianity was simply a means to an end. They were nationalistic, and earthly minded.

Christ has nothing to do with those who don’t believe in Him, they are the world. Next Brian will be telling us that unbelievers are pleasing to God; Oh! beg my pardon, he already says that.

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. Hebrews 11:6

Brian McLaren has defected from Christ and Christianity, while still wearing the uniform and using the language (although with new definitions), and is one of the new Judas Zealots now trying to use Christ to their own advantage. This is the reason that he is  pleased to now add to his ranks, an atheist. It matters not that they represent two different worlds and systems, it only matter that he accomplish “his” goals, of unification of all beliefs, government reform, and selling a few books.

Steve Blackwell

The Bible also asks the same question but states it this way, “is Christ divided?” or is, “Christ the author of confusion?” The obvious answer to that is, NO! Then why all the divisions? The Church, over the last couple of millennia, has given up even looking for an answer, assuming that what they see, and what their experience dictates, is O.K. with the Lord, and that what they have read in the Bible doesn’t mean, what it appears to say. But, any amount of common sense should cause us to step back and ask the question, why the divisions?, if we believe the plain words of the inspired Scriptures. With all the divisions, someone uninitiated to “orthodoxy” would venture to answer that Christ is divided, and that He is the author of confusion, because that is what we see in the Church today, and for many, many, hundreds of years.  So, we must question the validity of Scriptures or the validity of those who are causing the divisions, namely the universities, the colleges, the ecclesiastical organizers, the preachers, the bishops and elders and deacons, and the pope. Either they are right or the Bible is right. Somebody is either ignorant of what the Bible says or they are just plain lying for the sake of self aggrandizement.

The organized Church cannot answer the question, because they are part of the problem, but, as stated last post, the answer is quite simple, FAITH, is the solution, “from faith to faith,” just as the Bible declares. But, you ask, simply stating that faith is the answer seems rather complicated to the mind reared on reason and study, and theology and doctrine, and creeds and councils, and pastors and popes, but, nonetheless, it is faith alone. The question must be answered on an individual basis, and not influenced by familiarity, friendship, or family. If the “seeker” is interested in truth, then he/she must deal with these honest questions.

What Are You Eating?

Let me try and explain. It has to do with our diet, the stuff we are eating, and the tree from which we harvest “wisdom.” Remember this verse from Solomon? “There is a way that seems right to man, but the way thereof is the way of death.” From where cometh the “way that seems right” and the wisdom of man? It is the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

A Little History

The history of man upon the earth is the history of failure. Why did he fail? Because he depended on his own knowledge of reason, sense, rationale, mixed with a generous helping of brute force, worldly talent, and the gift of verbal manipulation. In essence he did things the way men do things, these were the ways that seemed right unto man, and he had access to nothing else, almost! There were a few in those days who understood what God wanted, and learned to please Him by trusting Him. We remember the great examples of Abraham who trusted God and it was counted unto him as righteousness, and David who was the apple of His eye, because of his great trust in his Savior; and we compare this with the great failure of King Saul, who did things that “seemed right,” and all the other failures, up to and including, the great “Church” debacle of today. This is the unending story of men doing things they “reason” will please God.

The Old Testament is a story of how man has failed, and why he failed. Every time the Jews turned from God and did things there own way, there was failure, and when they “believed” that God would return to them, when they relinquished their own vain attempts, according to His faithful promise, then things would turn around, and so goes the see-saw life of the Jews all the way through the Old Testament. Then, we come to the New Testament, and we find that we must exercise faith and trust in God, just like the Old Testament believers; that it is “faith unto faith, the just shall live by faith,” then, now, and forever.

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

We all know that there is only one “Christianity,” so why all the diversity? The challenge of that question has been the cause of many sleepless nights. I have studied many of the different sects, and read large portions of Edward Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Phillip Schaff’s History of the Christian Church, read the works of Luther and Calvin, but the question remained, why all the division? The very closest I have come is by taking a closer look at what happened in the Garden of Eden.

The desire for the fruit of the knowledge concerning good and evil has taken men far from the truth, in pursuit of the fulfillment of an appetite created by the adversary of God, and man, Satan. We now live in a world that feeds that appetite on foul fruit, that never satisfies, or leads to truth.

This is where faith comes in. In the Garden of Eden we are told to eat of any tree except the forbidden tree. Now that we are outside God’s Garden, we are for the duration of this life, in the Garden of Satan, and here we are told by Satan, to eat of any tree in the garden, except the one he forbids, the Tree of Life, which is now contained in the inspired words between the covers of Scriptures. Granted many will read the Bible, but do they eat it? Have they really ingested that wisdom, and incorporated the words of God into the fabric of their life and soul, and trusted God to complete His task through them, and not just rubber stamp their own plans and goals by presumptuously claiming God’s blessing? All that we see around us is the production of our accumulated knowledge obtained from our many sources of knowledge, the knowledge of men, not God. Quite simply Jesus tells us to not trust our own thoughts; that we cannot even think a sinless thought. Paul tells us that it was not by knowledge that we came to know Christ, but rather through revelation. This is why “faith” is so important. We must take at face value the direction given to us from the Bible, the inspired words of God.

Christian men call themselves “believers.” Basically, we claim to be believers in what we read in the Bible, as “from God.” In this Book we are told to believe many things, and we readily exercise a superficial faith in the things which appeal to our self interest and flesh, like getting things from God: job security, good health, and a home in Heaven. The Bible has become like a good luck charm, and the cross a talisman, but there are other things in the Bible we are told to believe also.

So, here we go again, Why, so much difficulty? Why so many divisions? And, why so much failure and feuding in the Church? At the core of this answer is a lack of faith. At the core of this answer is a lack of understanding of what faith is. And, at the core of this answer is the fact that we are not believing the things required by God. This is where the element of “faith” becomes powerful.

Fellowship with God, and other Christians, will come to us as we just believe, and eat the Flesh of Jesus, and drink His blood. He is that Tree of Life.

Trusting Jesus will contradict every fiber of knowledge we have gathered on our journey through life, because it is contrary to what we experience in the garden of Satan; it is the knowledge of two totally different kinds of life. Most times we are not asked to figure it all out first, but to just trust Him, then He will confirm it us His own way. You see, that is the way of faith. But, Christians today think they must have the teaching of men, and traditions, and creeds, and councils, and techniques of worship, candles, ambience, labyrinths, choirs, stain glass, and all the other stuff that goes into building something learned from eating from the wrong tree. Simple faith is really just “simple faith.”

Take away all that the tree of un-belief (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) has added to the body of Christ (marketing, church growth, organization, ritual, titles, costumes, programs, etc.) and you would find how rapidly believers would find themselves in agreement on most issues. But, that is not going to happen because the stool of pride would have to be knocked out from under them, and they have a vested interest in keeping that stool upright.

God’s plan is a mystery because the minds of men cannot figure out what God is up to through their own knowledge; His ways are only understood by faith. Since the day that Eve ate that fruit and shared it with Adam man approaches every inquiry, question, or problem, with the goal of reasoning and weighing the odds, in his mind, as to whether or not this is the will of God, or how he can do, what he has reasonably deduced, as honoring Jesus. When there are conflicts with other “men of faith” there different “reasons” prevail and divisions occur.  Even prayer, is nearly always approached with an answer already conceived or an excuse made. Projects are promoted with the thinking that such and such a thing must surely please God. Bible passages are ignored, even though they clearly direct us to just trust God and have faith in Him, and place our plans on the altar.

The heart of man is corrupted beyond repair. His thoughts and powers of reason cannot be trusted. Paul warns us to cast off our intelligence as a way of finding the will of God. What we see in all the divisions of men is not intelligence or good reasoning, but terrible confusion and deception.

The way of understanding the will of God does not come through degrees or diplomas, through choreographed worship services, through eloquent speeches, through the beads of a rosary, through attending many conferences, through repeating a mantra, or any other devices of men; they are all lies. You can search the Scriptures from now till doomsday to find such things.

It is only as we cast ourselves onto Him, completely, without reservation, our minds, our hearts, and our bodies, and trust and believe that it is God who comes to us, and not the other way around, that He, reveals Himself, to us. All the church growth business, all the grand missionary organizations, all the talk of social justice and unity, and winning the world for God is nothing but legalism veiled in the pretty garments of men dressing up for their God, or putting on a show, which does more for the ego, of the men doing it, than it does to satisfy the Lord. God has nowhere required men to do these things. All He has ever required of men, both Jew and Gentile, is to let go of their devices and trust Him. He is the One who builds the Church, He is the One who heals the land, He is the One who goes before us, and is our rear guard, it is Him who prepares a table in the presence of our enemies, it is God who causes our enemies to live at peace with us, when our ways please Him.

Do you see that it is this message that the Holy Spirit wants us to grasp through faith. What we are exposed to in this evil garden, outside the walls of safety, are all the lies of Satan finding fertile soil in our corrupted abilities to reason things out and find the truth, where no truth exist. The Bible holds the answer to all our questions, and anyone, regardless of intellect, can be found by Him, if they who will just fall upon that Rock, and be broken.

What I have written here is not the words of a great person, or well known amongst the preachers of this world, but it is the truth, and God Himself has promised that when you fall on Him, He will save you. You need not go forward at some meeting, or speak in tongues, or confess to a priest, or send money on a regular basis, or mail off for some prayer cloth; you don’t have to do anything except trust Jesus, and continue trusting Him all the days of your life. You don’t have to go to some building and listen to speeches once a week; God requires none of those things, they are all the contrivances of mere men who think they understand faith in God.

I feel that the following response from Jesus, when he was asked the question – “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” embodies the simplicity of faith in a most elegant and profound manner. “Jesus replied:

“ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40.

“…As a part of my truth quest I began doing a lot of reading on the different “holiness” strains of Christendom to get a better handle on why so many read the same bible so differently.”

Why? This is a really good question, that the “organized Church” cannot answer. Of course, they each try by stating that the others are wrong and that they alone hold the correct answer. Is there an answer? Yes, I believe there is, but at the same time I believe that it is not a general answer, but an answer that only a few will discover, and it has to do with faith, and it the same answer to why so many in that day will say, “Lord, Lord,…” and the Lord says, “be gone from me I never knew you.” Faith is the answer, and many have a misguided view of what it is.

Identifying the Problem

Over the past five or six years, this thing called the “Church” has been of particular interest to me. In the past I assumed that the familiar thing that I have seen on nearly every corner in America was the “Church,” as presented in the Bible. I have assumed that this was true even though the only Church that it remotely resembles is the latter day Church mentioned in the Book of Revelation, “the Church of the Laodicean’s.” Should this resemblance be alarming?  Yes, absolutely, if we are at all interested in truth. This fact came as a startling revelation to me, and has become the prominent compelling force behind my re-examination of all things pertaining to the Church and truth.

Jesus makes a couple of statements, actually a statement and a question, that became sticking point for me on this new road of discovery. There have been many revelations since then, but initially my eyes were opened to the seemingly vast numbers of Christians in America, and the world, and that it conflicts with the Bible declaration of smallness. Any person truly concerned about salvation will want to think and pray earnestly about the ramifications of the following statements: Jesus said,

1.    Matt 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many (Christians) who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
2.    Luke 18:8 “…when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

This does not in any way point to, or allude to, an end day Church that is busting out at the seams, or walking in truth. Wouldn’t you agree something is amiss here? This should cause us to ask some very straight questions of ourselves, and those appointed to lead us, the, supposedly, enlightened ones.

Setting the Stage

First, let’s set the stage. There are a few things we should give heed to concerning this place we call our home.

▸    Remember, we live in a fallen world. Look at, and listen to, your surroundings; this is obviously true: cursing, foulness, rape, murder,  pillage, greed, envy, pride and deceit are all the currency of this kingdom.
▸    The ruler of this world is not Jesus, His Father, or the Holy Spirit, it is Satan. Satan is the prince and power of the air, and has been given this world as his kingdom. All that you see and hear is the product of his rule. Satan makes the rules, sets the policies and guidelines by which man is regulated, and men everywhere obey them, and, oh, by the way, he is a liar. 1John 2:16-17.
▸    Human beings are a deceived race of people. If the Bible makes one thing perfectly clear it is that ALL of mankind are born blind, and without the gift of sight, and stumble around in the dark. Men are in the dark and would not know the truth if it stood right in front of them. We have been tricked and we are deceived, and we prefer it that way: John 3:19, Jer. 5:31, Gen 6:5, Pr. 6:12-14, Isa. 59:1-16.
▸    God’s ways are not man’s ways. That is a simple enough statement, but why then, in every aspect of the organized church, do we see building and organization that have the fingerprints of men all over them? It doesn’t look supernatural, it looks very natural, very common, and very human. Isa. 55:8-9, 58:1-3; Prov. 21:8; Ex. 20:20; Ezek.. 18:24-30; Ps. 81:11-14.
▸    Man is a religious creature. Man, inherently, desires truth, happiness, and peace, but virtually ignores what the Bible says concerning achieving it. Man seeks these things through selfish motives and wrong doing, through compliance to the world’s rules, or the corruption of goodness, through self-worship, and idol worship, but man’s motivation is always evil, a product of: weakness, pride, selfishness, and lust.

This is the stage on which this whole thing we call “doing church” or “church growth” is played out. The Bible declares, that to men living on this planet, under these circumstances, there is a way that appears to be right to his limit capacity to reason and see clearly, but that “way” is a lie and the way of death, Pr. 14:12. All of the institutional religions of men, including the organized church of Christianity, are based, to some degree, on the wholesale deception of mankind, man trying to please his god through form, ritual, and acts of the will. If the ritualistic religions of the world, including Christianity, are the true earmarks of an omnipotent god then he is no more powerful or creative than any industrious man. What mankind has done, through these acts, is to declare that he no longer needs the God of the Bible, that he is able to finish in the flesh what was began in the Spirit, Gal 3:3. Mankind has effectively declared that he is as powerful as God. He has declared that he is God, by proxy, persons authorized to act in God’s behalf, because he hangs a cross around his neck, is called by a designated title, or sings a certain kind of song, or does good deeds, or prays, or studies the Bible, or a thousand other things, including church planting and building. He assumes he is saved, but he assumes too much. He says he has faith without ever understanding or obeying the dictates of the real God, or understanding the characters acting out their roles on the stage of life in this world. Christianity, and all its sects, have become just another religion searching for a purpose and a meaning to life, not really caring about truth, but anything that offers personal peace and happiness, and the real God says that they love it that way, Jer. 5:31, Isa. 56:10-12, Isa. 30:10, Rom. 1:24-25. Think about it, if God’s ways are not man’s ways, why does all of Christendom look like a production of man? Could it be that God was wrong, and God’s ways do look like man’s ways after all? Or, could it be that man is deceived and simply does things the way man does things, like men, and that the building of the “church” has been taken out of the hands of God so that men can make sense of the operation of the Church, Gen.11:2-4? The same thing has happened over and over through history and God has rejected man’s way to build, and He has cursed it. The Jews never learned from the many times God showed mercy, and always returned to something they themselves could build and manage. This is the play that is continually re-played, and that men never learn from, and the stage is now strewn with all the failed gimmicks, and useless programs of men pursuing God. Doesn’t the Bible say matter-of-factly that “unless the Lord builds the house it is built in vain” Ps. 127:1, and that it is the Lord Himself that adds to the Church those who are being saved, Acts 2:46-47?  But, today we have lords many, all building their own way, just like the Jews. This is the never ending story of mans failure to please God. The church today is built on business plans, accounting principles, and marketing devices, by men each doing whatever is right in his own eyes, and the measure of their success is the visible representation of an organization and a building, Isa. 5:21, Jdg. 17:6, Jdg. 21:25, Gen 11:2-4.

This has not answered the question of why there are so many “belief” systems that are all called “Christian” and claim to follow Christ. I will answer that question in the next post. There is an answer; if there isn’t then even Christ would be a deceiver, and that is not possible. But, the answer may be very different than what you imagine, so stay with me.

In an effort to keep things tidy I’m going to stop till the next installment, besides I have the flu and I’m getting tired.

Steve Blackwell

There is only one Christianity and it ain’t emergence or Emergent, neither is it Pentecostal, Baptist, Lutheran, or any other sect. Following Christ is to be a Christian, and for the most part they all have it wrong, but their “labels” at least lets us know what to expect from them. With out labels it is very hard to nail anything down, everything becomes silly putty in their hands. They can believe one thing one day and the opposite the next day, or nothing at all, or both, it is the freedom of an anarchist, both lawless and rebellious.
Tony doesn’t like labels because he says,

“they seem to us (emergence types) convenient ways of boxing someone in. . . .”

when he would much rather be a moving target. This statement is just smoke or camouflage. Liars, cheats, and scoundrels hate labels because they identify who and what they are. Sit at a poker table in Vegas and try and identify the pros. Those professionals hate labels too. They want to look like tourist; they look harmless and innocent, but they are wolves, there to separate you from your bankroll. Hang a label on these pros and the table will empty; at least the smart ones would leave. The first rule of poker is that you never play against someone better than you. But, most people think that the game is just a matter of luck anyway, much like religion. They never pay attention to the “tells” that identify or label a person as a shark or a false teacher, who are both classified as wolves.

Do you see how “labels” can be counter productive to vandals who want to separate you from your valuables? Labels identify people and things, and keep us safe in the world. Thieves, cheats, marketers, card sharks, and false teachers and preachers know this. Subterfuge, misrepresentation, deception, pretense, and dramatics are all the tools of those who fear exposure and labels. At the poker table the pro will likely advertise his stupidity and ineptitude by playing fast and loose, and present themselves as something they’re not. He’ll look like a sap to the vacationer who thinks he’ll be an easy touch. Then the truth comes, when it is too late, and the pro has that monster hand he was waiting for, and the real “sucker” is revealed. This is called “advertising” in the world of poker, and is used with great effect. Marketers advertise also and generally try and trick you into believing something about their product that isn’t true: cars, clothes, cologne, alcohol, you name it, they are nearly all deceptions, lies, and illusions. They allow you to think that there is value where none exist. Your identifying of these lies would permit you to stick a “label” on them and classify their tactics as dangerous and deceptive.

What that poker player is saying by his not saying anything and putting on a show, by his dress and by his actions, is that “you need not worry about me, I am harmless, just relax and have some fun, and please don’t label me.” I believe Tony Jones is saying much the same thing by presenting labels as a bad thing. He says that labels box people in, and I say they protect people. He cannot live by his own philosophy. Does Tony label people? Isn’t Pentecostal a label? Do labels inform us and protect us? Would Tony take a bottle from his medicine cabinet without consulting the “label?” Would anyone? Did Jesus label people and things? Jesus said “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees…. How is it that ye do not understand that I spake not to you concerning bread…? Then understood they how that he bade [them] not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.” Mt 16:6,11-12 Was Jesus putting these teachers in a box? Did He label them? You bet He did, and for our good, for our protection. He identified the threat and stuck a label on it, and expects us to heed the danger.

People who have nothing to hide do not fear labels. Labels are markers and road signs and warnings, to direct the wayfaring man or woman to safety.

Beware of the smoke and slight of hand of the religious magicians, for they will cheat you out of much more than money, they will steal your very soul, and will leave you only this world in which to take refuge.

Tony says at the beginning of that article, “Getting one’s arms around the emergent church is no mean feat. . . .” I think this could be interpreted as

“there’s no way to understand what we’re doing, so don’t try.”

A liberal is more magician than theologian, and their slight of hand can make truth disappear in a flash and reappear as something else all together different. Only another of their dark trade, or the Berean sort, really knows that a heist has taken place; others stand in awe that what they have always wanted their Christianity to be anyway, has magically appeared out of thin air.

There was a “disenfranchisement of GenX evangelicals in the 1990s”

as Tony rightly states, but actually the disenfranchisement started earlier than that, it was really a phenomena of the Boomers. In the sixties there was great disrespect and questioning of anything that presented itself with an air of truth, or established order, and thus occurred the legendary  “generation gap”. The Gen X’ers like their mothers and fathers before them, were able to detect the lies and falsehood of their predecessors, but were unable to discover the truth that had been trampled under foot, and consequently they reached out to the magicians to work their magic, and make all the bad stuff go away. It didn’t work then and it is not working now.  The false teaching of sex, drugs, and revolution that the Boomers turned to for answers is no different than the false teachers (liberals) that the disenfranchised Gen X’ers are turning to today. Granted, the established Christian order that exist today and in the ‘90′s is full of hypocrisies and pretense, but at least there is a foundation of truth that underlies the rubble and junk hiding the heart of what Jesus means in His Word.

Tony Jones, Brian McLaren, and all their liberal buddies, are akin to those who raise the price of medicine when a shortage hits, or try to pass off  placebos for the real thing as a psychological pacifier. There is a crisis in the “Truth” department today, but the price that most are willing to pay for the fake is far higher than they will be able to endure. A “half truth” whether it comes from the left or the right is still a lie. There is a desperate shortage of truth today, and it is likened to a famine in the book of Amos 8:11

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.”

We are in the midst of that famine and real food is in short supply. Where there is a shortage, of any kind, there will be those who will take advantage of, and rob, the weak and the ignorant.

Like the sixties, the young were the weak and the ignorant. They wanted change so badly that drugs and sex were the natural answer, and even if it didn’t work, at least it felt good. Tony Jones, Brian McLaren, and a whole score of new liberals have devised an answer from the old corn husk of liberal theology, that look appealing during a famine, but could not nourish a pig when the truth thrived in its heyday. But, today the old hucksters are back at it, and they have a hungry following. The appeal to the young, to have truth their way, is too much for the starving to resist, and we will yet see the results of such a choice made in desperation.

More on this subject next week. . . .

“In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit.”

The Book of Judges, in my opinion, is the saddest book of the Bible.  It show what happens to a nation when they lose their way. The book illustrates that every path, is not the right path, just because we call ourselves Followers of God or Christ. There are many imagined ways to God, but only one path is the right path. These are days of darkness and not light; days of confusion and not understanding. We are reliving the Book of Judges, following our own imaginations of what God requires, and missing the mark by a million miles.

Brian McLaren is leading the charge into this new eclectic Christian wonderland. With every book and video, or speaking engagement, more boldness is shown, and more people are mesmerized, with the thoughts of having their own “form” of the Christian religion.  By following Brian’s heresy they are cutting wide avenues into the un-saving grace of liberal theology, a land of no return, for most, who venture there.

Tim Challies has read Brian’s new book and given a telling review of what is to be found there. If you are so inclined to purchase Brian’s book, at least see what others have to say.  In this age of “everyone doing what is right in his own eyes,” be very cautious of where you trod, dangers lurk in places you would never expect to find it, and many are swept away by the Serpent’s tongue, and pen.

Follow the link below to read Tim’s review.

http://www.challies.com/archives/book-reviews/a-new-kind-of-christianity.php

Adversity in the Lord

I write things, not because I have all the answers, or that I am living up to the standard that God has set before me, but because I must know the truth and I need to hear the truth.

“What should be our attitude in adversity?” I say this because I need to hear it, because adversity comes home, eventually to every Christian’s doorstep, even mine. At these times it does no good to rant and rave and curse the day you were born; it’s at these times that we need understanding and wisdom to push forward for the Lord.

“In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the Angel of His Presence saved them;

In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bore them and carried them

all the days of old.” Isa 63:9

First of all, we are Christian and we recognize and accept that affliction is something we must take for granted. This is something that goes without saying, but in the midst of suffering we don’t want to think about all those lessons on how it is to be handled; we just want it to pass. The word of God takes note of the fact that the Lord’s people do suffer adversity and that their adversity is known to Him; it is under His eye. Unless Satan has some legitimate claim on you due to some sin left uncovered, then nothing is wrong about it, it is the common experience of all of God’s children.

In this verse Israel is seen in the wilderness; what was the adversity of the Israelite’s here? They had many. Their life was a life of wilderness wandering and their trials were plenty.

To begin with they were shut out and separated from all that was going on in the world, what the world had, and what the world was doing. The things that the world was doing, and had, to give them pleasure and satisfaction was cut off from them. That form of suffering hit them right between the eyes and came home to them many times in the fact that they had left Egypt where those things could to be had in abundance. Their hearts would return there often, remembering “the onions and the garlic” and all the other things. They missed those things terribly and returned, in there minds, over and over again. “If only we could go back for a little while,” “I would die for a fresh cut onion right now.” Going back to Egypt in their minds became a pastime for them, a miserable form of recreation that only brought suffering. Egypt had a plan, a form, and regularity to it, something that could be counted on. In the desert you never knew what to expect from one day to the next; you didn’t even know if you would be alive much less be hungry or thirsty; it was completely unpredictable. It was all a life of trust and faith, and faith means adversity often enough. Adversity narrows down the options and creates dependence and opens up windows to see God’s fullness. This is the way it was for the Israelites. This is the way it is for the Lord’s people; He cuts you off, closes you in, narrows your focus; this is adversity; this is suffering when viewed against the world. The Lord’s people can not do or have what they please. It was a weaning process, a weaning away from the deceptions of the flesh life and the world.

There are times like that in our lives, when we have been cut off, restricted to some path chosen for us to walk in, a path with no options but to trust and rest, or rebel. There are days when the dark clouds settle in so fast and we are caught completely off guard and we wonder if we will survive much less have joy. All them things we’ve heard of great Christian moments seem so far out of reach for us now and we begin to wonder if the Lord is against us, why all this “straitness” (as in a difficult road) and distress. This is not the bountifulness or graciousness of the Lord; God is not being good to me; this is not the kind of life that is at the center of all those sermons I have listened to all these years. The enemy is pressing the attack, trying to take ground; Satan is laying siege to our hearts and mind. He wants the Lord to be our enemy. The whole story of our life with the Lord begins to take a nasty turn and we feel abandoned, His promise broken. We start to see the Lord as hard, the Christian life as hard. The whole thing is being twisted to present our Father as evil by Evil itself.

“In all their affliction He was afflicted…” So, what is the word saying? It is saying this. In all that adversity, straitness, narrowness, and suffering, the Lord was not against them. Whatever it may have looked like, the Lord was not against them. Well, if that is the case then we have to look for another answer; there must be another explanation. If the Lord is not against us in all these adversities, what is the reason?

So, if the Lord is not against us in these things that cause us illness and hardship and mental anguish then He must be for us, and all those things are for our benefit and ultimate joy. The Lord knows us so well in the life of the flesh and knows that we have to be pressed, narrowed, and emptied so that we can be filled. The Lord is seeing beyond the circumstances to a richness that we are not yet able to comprehend.

I could go directly from here into a discussion on deception, because there is a link. I won’t do that, but I will say that that life in the flesh, desiring those things that are attractive to the natural man is that soil which is fertile for the seeds of deception. Our attempt to waylay God and rob Him of His goodness toward us by extricating ourselves from adversity is itself a deception and directs us away from the path which must be traveled toward a death which produces no fruit.

It would be easy to show that the Lord was for the Israelites every step of their journey through the wilderness, but you say “they rebelled and therefore He was turned to be their enemy.” They rebelled, that is the difference. We can have adversity and not rebel. God will not tolerate rebellion; He is the enemy of rebellion. But, even then, it is said of Him that “…He remembered….” Even when He had to be their adversary because of rebellion the end of the matter was that “he remembered,” Moses, “He remembered that we are dust.”

The Lord knows our soulish hearts and loves us. He knows that we must build a history of overcoming troubles, even if it takes forty years in a desert (or thirty three years in my case). He knows that we need to be trained to conquer difficulty, danger, and misfortune in the natural man so we can learn to walk in the hidden man, the man of the spirit. To walk in the spirit is to accept hardship and suffering and to live life on the other side of Jordan where we confidently follow the Captain of the Lords Host into Spiritual wars and bask in the victories of faithfulness and trust.

The final word, which is never really the final word, is this. For the majority of us, and especially me on this particular day, while our hearts are thinking of the Lord, and we find our way strait, troubled, heavy, closing in on us, demanding that our flesh take some kind of action; when the way ahead is dark, the fog is thick, and the path is cut off before us, remember, the Lord is not against us; it means just the opposite. The Lord is in the process of enlarging our borders and preparing a feast in the presence of our enemies. The Lord is after much more than getting a better life here, in the flesh. What ever we gain here we gain nothing. So, if we pray for more of the Lord we must pass through narrow places, difficult places, and come to adversity, because the Lord is for us, not against us.

“In all their affliction He was afflicted…”

Steve Blackwell