Things I Think…
1. I think we live in Babylon and believe it to be Jerusalem…
2. Our estimation of the character of the brethren is too often based on their political affiliations, not who they may truly be…
3. If God raises up another prophetic voice or voices to the church, they will end up as all prophets do…
4. If my personal beliefs and ethics contradict that of the church, it’s not the church that is supposed to change…
5. The “inclusive” churches are dying. If faith is truly that important to the LGBTQ crowd you’d think they’d pack them out. They don’t.
6. The holiday season is my annual recreation of the Bataan death march. That’s the last time I’ll mention it…
7. I prefer the company of those who are a little strange…
8. Christianity always suffers from syncretism with the surrounding culture…finding the Gospel requires parsing between the two…
9. “They will know us by our love” is a continual indictment against me…and I’m not alone…
10. That indictment is followed by “if you only love those who love you,what benefit is that to you?”…thankfully, He said nothing about those who only love their cats…
#2 Sadly, that is so true. If I understand Jesus’ mission correctly, it was suffer and die and rise again for the atonement of sins, not to be the champion of a political party. It seems that the “Jesus is on our side” cries are louder than ever. God help us . . .
DavidM,
We all do it…we receive our training from the culture and not from the church.
We’re a mess…
#7 A little or even a lot strange works for me…
Duane,
Amen…it’s my comfort zone… 🙂
Church that wife and I attend brands itself as “church for the rest of us” with the tag line “no perfect people allowed”. This attracted us as wife and I are definitely not a typical Christian couple…we are sans the requisite 2.5 kids.
Dan,
I might steal that slogan… I like that…
#6 – Lets make the holidays like the olympics: every 4 years.
#7 – agree. Normal people make me nervous.
Michael – to your #5 and #8 – go together. The ‘inclusive’ churches are indeed the ones that cause the suffering to the churches through syncretism with the culture.
#3 Will you then have a festivus for “the rest of us”?
MLD,
It’s one way…another is the baptism of political entities…
#5 Dan
But, do you have a dog and a mini-van… you slip in un-noticed…
11/Duane…haha! We have two dogs…those are our “kids” and a “family” sedan..
Michael, regarding thought number 2:
The Christian Post (yea, I know…) recently ran an article by a Reverend Mark Creech that is titled something like “Can I Be A Christian And A Democrat?”
Predictably, his answer was no. It just seems that this article misses the larger picture about being a Christian. I know we are never going to agree, and I am not going to go down the road of “if you look at Jesus and his teachings and life, then you would align more with the Democrats”. I think that misses the boat too.
Michael – it could be. Do you meld politics into your church environment? I don’t and have not been around such in many years if ever.
Now in my church body, if we get involved politically at all it is as citizens to help guide the government off of our turf.
But in the case I mentioned above, the LGBTQ crowd is 100% the culture, that the inclusive church wants to join hands without making any demands for repentance and at the same time bowing to the gods of culturalism. It’s that whole Jezebel thing of Rev 2.
Good “things.” I wholeheartedly agree with all but #6 (90% is still an A, right?). I enjoy the Christmas season, even with all of its worldly faults. I understand why it is difficult for some though.
I guess I’m the kind of Christian that only a dog could love. (No offense cat people) 🙂
” I think we live in Babylon and believe it to be Jerusalem…”
I agree and this statement may be THE prophetic message for the church in this hour. We are in exile and we continue to think and operate as if we are still in control. When the church recognizes their exilic condition, the reasons why we are here, and confesses our shortcomings, then we will then be able to rightly interpret the events that are happening around us, and have a response that will transform individuals in such a way that they will be a true light for the world, who currently sees the church as an irrelevant relic of the past without much of a voice to speak into the issues of substance today.
pstrmike,
I completely concur…
#1 Not many returned to Jerusalem from Babylon. Only a remnant. The others were buying, selling, getting married and being given in marriage.
#9 Michael,
Letting me back on your forum was very loving, so that’s one of the ways I know you. I said things twice as harsh (and misguided) to you, and you gave me a third pitch. That was loving. I tried to be loving (by bringing some sensitive issues to members of my old church) and was treated twice as harshly as you have ever treated me in our exchanges. Kind of an inverse relationship, I guess.
#3 always thought Blair nailed it with this one
https://youtu.be/nW0EtMQBeus
Everyone probably already knew thought I’d share anyway
Carl Lentz… SMH…
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://www.dailywire.com/news/23226/hillsong-pastor-carl-lentz-refuses-call-abortion-paul-bois&ved=0ahUKEwjk_tjfsK7XAhUC5mMKHZOJAnQQFghNMA4&usg=AOvVaw3WV_jJf3PJEbISKwpWTLkb
Babylon, indeed
@9 “They will know us by our love” seems to have been replaced by “They will know us by our belligerence”. Until that changes, we will not listen to each other and the world at large will not listen to us.
Belligerent voices are a dime a dozen these days.
I am thankful to God this morning for a couple of things. One that he has granted me another day to serve my family and my neighbor.
Second, I am thankful that he has not given me the spirit of a crappy attitude towards his church – which is his bride and his body. That he has not allowed me to proclaim that the distinguishing mark of his church is not love but is indeed belligerence.
I must see through a different set of glasses. As I watch what has been developing in Texas, I saw on at least 3 occasions Christians reaching out and say that the only way to defeat evil is with good. I saw the comments from the pastor and his wife who lost so much including their daughter not point fingers but say they do not understand and that they are leaning on Jesus. I see the SBC step forward as the church to cover the costs of burial, the repair the church and to offer guidance and counseling to the community. All of which should have the world saying – hey look how these Christians have love for one another.
I also want to clear up something – the NRA is not some para church organization that works within or in the name of the church.
MLD
“Second, I am thankful that he has not given me the spirit of a crappy attitude towards his church – which is his bride and his body.”
I assume that you are directing that towards me, which would be incorrect and exactly the sort of behavior I was referencing.
Duane, that is cute. You make a statement that the voice of the church today is NOT love but belligerence – I counter to show that the voice of the church is actually love and then you label me belligerent.
It takes a different kind of mind to come up with that one.
But once again, I guess we all need to be open to all kinds of opinions. 😉
MLD
In the first instance that is not what I said…and secondly “It takes a different kind of mind to come up with that one.” You just cannot help yourself…
Duane, belligerent speech seems to be the modis operandi of the day on social media. It’s become a cesspool. And it’s easy for even believers to get sucked in.
Duane, my comment is not directed to your current conversation with MLD. Just my observation.
Duane @25 said; “In the first instance that is not what I said”
Duane @ 21 said; “They will know us by our love” seems to have been replaced by “They will know us by our belligerence”.
MLD
Yes, I did not call it a “mark” of the Church, or the “voice” of the Church… but thank you for proving the point.
#26 Dan
Thanks and, yes, that is exactly what I was referring to…
Duane – it must be a mark of the church if you are claiming that is how the church is recognized.
As Michael would say “let’s move on”
MLD
“it must be a mark of the church if you are claiming that is how the church is recognized.”
No, I did not say that either, but once again, thank you for proving the point.
They will know us by our love” seems to have been replaced by “They will know us by our belligerence”.<<<
I only see this on TV and the internet, never in real life. And real life is the Christian life, not the pretend world of the internet.
But on TV recently I did see the Texas church people talking about forgiveness and love. They sure made Christianity look attractive. They sure sounded like Jesus. Even the guy with the gun who chased down the killer .
Among my local Christians, I hear zero belligerence. All I hear is love and affection.
And those Texas Baptists probably all believed in the Rapture and probably all voted for Trump.
How about that.
#33 Xenia
Agreed. Unfortunately, media and social media are the places many frequent and gain the impression. Real life, face to face, is different.
I think many of us would have a better impression of Christians and Christianity if we interacted more with the people of our own churches and turned off the internet, or at least the voices on the internet that are critical of churches. Who is the accuser of the brethren, anyway?
interesting focus on internet Christians as the problem… very valid opinions IMHO
i suspect what we see on the internet are those church going folk who really have never come to terms with their need of redemption from their sinful heritage and thus just may be proving that they are phonies, the ones who drive Believers away and not really part of THE Church at all… dunno
#36 Xenia
As I said in a recent article, too many are drawn to “hot button” issues. Unfortunately, there are many who like to provide those issues on a continual basis. Equally unfortunate are those churches that provide such fodder…