Endless Possibilities

Sipping on a fresh homemade strawberry kombucha, I’m sitting in a 600 square foot room we call “the cave”. It’s snowing outside, while I’m watching flames in the woodstove through the glass door.  The contrast of extremes is interesting.  My charcoal gray T-shirt states, I’m currently unsupervised.  I know, it freaks me out too.  But the possibilities are endless!  My long gray beard matches it well. 

My wife says that I’ve evolved into a hippie.  Yes, I do hunt mushrooms in the woods.  I also make my own herbal teas and medicines. My ROKU is playing Tibetan meditation music in the background… so she probably isn’t far from the truth.  But not a hippie, I see that culture as leading us to the drug induced, sex craved culture we see today.  I do, however, like the peace and love aspect.

It’s okay to mellow a little as we age.  Even explore new ideas and hobbies.  I wish I had discovered my older self at a younger age.  I believe the Creator cuts us some slack as we age.  I don’t believe He’s as mean as I once thought.  I really won’t get struck with lightning if I don’t attend church this week. Today, I even find a forty five minute Bible study lasts all day.  It just seems to never end.  When did Sunday school get soooooo long?

I still go to church. I just get more religion working outside, in nature, than I do in attending.  I’m at the point in life where I need more than a church, which is obsessed in the past, can give.  I like Romans 1:19-20, For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made. Give me a class study on string theory, quantum mechanics, or near death experiences.  We are eternal beings of light!  If we don’t stop studying Jewish history, science will discover the real Creator before the church does.  I understand the preoccupation with the past, but is it at the cost of our present, or possibly our future?

I do have many questions about God, which remain unanswered.  But I’m looking for those answers.  It’s the person who doesn’t seek that’s in real danger.  Rejecting completely the concept of a divine creator is not even an alternative answer.  Looking at nature, the only correct one is that God is real. Design is everywhere!

The problem, is that the church has presented to us an active communicating God who has our best interest at heart.  It’s nice, but He is often silent and passive when we call.  Our pleas go unanswered as we struggle through life seemingly unaided.  It makes people reject that business model and opt for another, less religious and less churchy.  I’m not anti-church.  I am anti a church, which cannot change, especially one that claims to have all the answers.

The Bible is Religion 101.  It should make you thirsty for more knowledge, more seeking of a Creator where possibilities are endless!

Philippians 2:12-13 says to Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is producing in you both the desire and the ability to do what pleases Him.   Is there a “holistic” religion?  Edgar Cayce said, “Then, to be able to remember the sunset, to be able to remember a beautiful conversation, a beautiful deed done where hope and faith were created, to remember the smile of a babe, the blush of a rose, the harmony of a song—a bird’s call; these are creative.  For they are a part of thyself, they bring you closer and closer to God”

The temperature outside is 23 degrees with a wind chill of 11.  The snow is still falling along with the temps… guess I’ll go watch some UFO videos.  Just kidding!

Tearing Down Denominational Walls

Pardon me while I dip into my past for today’s blog.  I was part of the church of Christ for about forty years.  My parents and grandparents were members as well, hence my indoctrination of strict beliefs and Biblical interpretations.  The church of Christ is one of several groups who are under the false impression that heaven waits for members of their sect only.  I know that sounds harsh but it is true.  They see themselves as being on the spiritual ark with the door already shut.  God has protected them against the cultural waves of sin that are drowning the rest of humanity.

I believe I’ve always doubted that idea, but it would have been heresy and sudden expulsion if a verbal confession had been made.  So, to let everyone know where I stand today is important.  There will be souls in heaven who have given their lives to Jesus from many different religions.  Obviously some will be there who have gone against the wishes of the denomination they belong to.  That is, in reference to following manmade creeds established  by men either to hold onto power or oppress the masses by their power.

It is belief in Jesus that saves!  We are probably nearing the end of existence as we know it here.  The “last days” have been going on for a while now.  If Biblical prophesy is correct, and it always is, there are very dark days ahead for us all.  Christians will suffer as well as non-Christians but there will be rewards for the faithful.

Ephesians 4:3 says “Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”  That verse has been used, quite often to keep dissenters in line with current church views.  I believe that verse should be applied along denominational lines.  It is time to tear down the walls that separate the family of God.  We need to look for things to unify us as Christians.  Lets face it, Biblical interpretations of first century writings have quite a few gray areas.  We were not eyewitnesses of the way everything was done, so drawing lines in the sand may not be appropriate when it comes to salvation.  For example, you may believe in the Lord’s Supper each Sunday, but don’t condemn another Christian who doesn’t.

In Acts chapter 15 there is great discussion about the burdens placed on people to be Christians.  Verses 10 & 11 say this, “Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?  No!  We believe it through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”  I especially like verse 19, “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.”  I would say the same rule should apply today among churches.  Ease up on the requirements and focus on Jesus.  More emphasis should be placed on John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that WHOEVER believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” and less on church dogma.

Jesus said in Mark 3:23-30 that a house divided against itself cannot stand. and that “no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up.  Then he can plunder the strong man’s house.”  Our denominational differences have “tied us up” so much that the church is being raped and plundered by the culture we live in.  Christians are no longer even a force to be reckoned with by American politicians.  Islam seems to be the new driving force.

We have no one to blame but ourselves.  Our house is divided and beginning to crumble.  We need to repent and preach unity before it is too late to reach the masses for Jesus.  Please pray for eyes to be opened and hearts changed.  If I can be led to see the truth, anyone can!

I’ve written a long manuscript about my personal journey out of the church of Christ which is ready to be published.  I know God has directed my steps just as he will direct yours.  Change isn’t always easy and encouragement is usually hard to find.  I am encouraging you to meet your extended family of Christians.  They are everywhere.  Try visiting a different church nearby.  Preachers and Pastors, why not have a joint service with the Baptist or Methodist.  Be different for a change.  Lets preach unity that all may be saved!

How Many Degrees ya Got?

My normal temperature is about 98, thanks for asking.  How did we, as a society, get so hung up on education degrees?  It must have come from the old Catholic Cliche’, which went something like, “give us your child to educate and they will always be Catholic”.  I believe liberals co-opted that idea, and by taking over the American education system, our children have become un-educated liberals. We have an education system which, if you are a Christian parent, opposes almost everything you hold dear.

I remember my first history class in college.  The professor, in the very first class, went on a rant about how religion had ruined the world.  He was not a Christian, and professed as much!  I just felt sorry for him and his warped ideas.  I know enough about history to see the good that religion, especially Christianity, has done.  Humanity, as a whole, is much like a singular human.  Terrible mistakes were made, but repentance along the way has shown goodness and mercy.

Christians, different from most world religions, see the value of every single human.  It doesn’t matter if that person is sleeping on a park bench or sitting in the oval office.  People without a Christian worldview have a different view of that value.  They believe an individual must be educated in their arts to become truly worthy of their anointing.  The ungodly religion of liberalism, and it is a religion, spends billions of dollars to make converts.  Their converts are networked up in their own system and nonbelievers are kept out.  Students are enticed over to the dark side with promises of huge salaries and perks which include guiltless sins, too numerous to mention.  Cookies from the dark side, just what a young college student wants.

Now Christians have a funny way of fighting their enemies, they just go away and give it to them.  We started Christian colleges, and the good guys and girls went there.  We gave them the university instead of fighting for our right in the arena.  Then, needing money, our side raised tuition so high, that most must attend secular schools, being a minority.  Peer pressure is an awful thing and most young Christians succumb by feeling overwhelmed in number.

Liberal institutions are certainly not the bastions of education they are made out to be.  Many graduates end up with a spiritual retardedness they cannot overcome, even with help!  Let’s face it, there is a God and HE must be approached for salvation through Jesus. Our Christian boys and girls take on the “agnostic” label to shunt criticism and then find out later in life, repentance is tough.  Being an agnostic is a weak argument for admission to Heaven.  “Lord, You never convinced me you existed!”  Obviously, they forgot reading in Romans chapter one, The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

Not only is a liberal graduate spiritually hindered, he is often financially chained to debt.   Student loans, books, and tuitions, all the offerings to the liberal gods, fund the system and pay for the priests.   Sorry, I mean the professors.  A graduate from their institution may be promised a high income, but upon exiting many are unable to locate them.  Most of the good CEO jobs are already taken.

I’ll throw in a personal observation as well.  I’ve known university graduates who couldn’t change a flat tire.  A liberal education doesn’t necessarily make you smarter.  They teach you things that THEY want you to know.  Often, a vocational education would be a much better value, especially if it didn’t corrupt your spiritual intellect.  Most people just need training in a career to earn a living.  Vocational schools do a good job with that, at a much lower cost and without all the baggage.  A good employee needs to know the job he/she is doing and not necessarily how religion has or hasn’t ruined the world.

Now, if we could just get companies to understand that college graduates don’t necessarily make good managers…and that is a whole different topic!

Originally published April 1, 2012 at Thechestnutburr.com