Challenging Our Faith

Anyone who exercises knows that when you cease from exercising, your muscles diminish and fat begins to grow again. In order to remain healthy we need to continue to move our bodies and eat healthy, but why aren't we applying this concept to our spiritual lives?

If I eat only bread every day what will my belly look like? I also need vegetables, fruit, water, and protein. I feel that when we limit ourselves to only one type of food we limit our overall health and consequences are likely to occur.

I have seen this same scenario among some political extremists who only watch one news source, think that news source is somehow always correct. I'm not going to get into a media/political debate in this article, but I'm just trying to get a point across, so please bear with me.

We know that when a church only listens to one teacher all the time, they are bound to develop a cult mind. Ephesians 4 shows us that we need apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers until we come into the unity of the faith. Jesus didn't come to set up denominations and he certainly didn't come to set up one denomination as the only assembly of believers. His church is an organic Body built up in the spirit by Him in a heavenly realm that we enter into as we believe.

The apostle Paul said that each person needs to be convinced in their own mind. I have heard it said many times before, "Know what you believe and why you believe it". I'd like to emphasize something specific in that statement. "Know what YOU believe and why YOU believe it".

Many churches today want you to know what THEY believe and why THEY believe it. We certainly have the freedom to search all that out. But if we believe what THEY believe, then is it really OUR belief? If you happen to agree with them, they so be it. And if you happen to disagree with them, you have every freedom to keep exploring until YOU have your own mind convinced. 

There are many Believers in the world today and I have been challenged by hearing out what other people believe and I feel that my faith has become stronger. My faith in Christ became strong while my faith in idols has diminished. Thankfully so! He wants us to have faith in HIM, not in Christianized idols. Anything can become an idol no matter how 'Christian' that thing may be.

In this journey I have been on, I have found many blogs, websites, and YouTube Channels that have exercised my faith, challenged my thinking, and helped shape me into a more mature Believer. I don't think maturity is something we can attain as an end all utopia. I think we are constantly maturing and we should never plateau. If we plateau we run the risk of becoming stagnant and in stagnancy mold begins to grow.

 I believe that God is not limited to handing out wisdom to only one denomination. He said ANYONE who asks for wisdom, he gives it liberally. :)

~Lisa

Spiritual Obesity

In the last few articles in this series 'Shed Religion to fall Deeper in love with Jesus' we looked at a key factor in what I believe one of our biggest hang ups is with religion, self. If we can't get over ourselves, then we will struggle with Jesus. We're either in love with ourselves and our self righteousness or we're in love with Jesus. It's not a healthy relationship if you try to have both.

Maybe it's never dawned on some that we tend to be in love with our self righteousness.  What does that look like? Well, it's a form of idolatry. I believe it comes from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. When we do so, we think we know things like God does. It blinds us and deceives us into thinking we can be the judge, it puffs up our pride, we feel in control and it gives us a false sense of being an overcomer. The fact of the matter is this...it's a facade.

Attempting to judge between 'good and evil' by that tree is full of leavening and empty calories that causes a sort of spiritual obesity.

We become right in our own eyes and live by the letter of the Law which brings us into a snare. The snare is that 'counterfeit high' of doing what is 'good' and abstaining from what is 'evil'. This is self righteousness and people gobble it up, they become gluttons over it, this is legalistic obesity.

Jesus came that we would have life and to have it abundantly, but there is no genuine substance in that tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If there was, God would have given Adam His blessing to feast from it. If we're going to fall deeper in love with Jesus, we need to stop eating from that tree, stop gorging ourselves on the rotten fruit, we need to stop binging at that tree. Yes, we binge. We overeat on that knowledge then get sick in our gluttonous overdose of legalism. But instead of being truly humbled, we vomit it all up, condemn ourselves with that very same Law, then we return to the vomit and lick it all back up again.

The problem with this illness is that it's spawned in the mind. One might think they need this 'knowledge' of 'good and evil' in order to live in this life, but we don't. Then one might think if they quit eating from that tree they will starve. The truth is this...we can keep eating..just feast on the trees God has given us to dine from. He said we could eat of all the trees, including the tree of Life, but not the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You see He didn't limit us to just the tree of Life. He said we could eat from all of them..just not that specific one. The one that brings death...the one that brings illness to our souls.

As one who has forsaken the forbidden tree, I testify that it was a process to overcome. It was an addiction to retreat from and it has it's withdrawals. But God has been full of grace and mercy as He tenderly unraveled me from myself. Feasting on trees that bear His Fruit has been the best spiritual weight loss I have ever known of. My spiritual metabolism has come to a healthier place in my life.

Sure, there are times when the deceitful fragrance of the forbidden tree wafts over my senses, but Christ is within me to reveal Himself at just the time I need Him. Jesus is the Truth and it is Truth that has set me free, but it is not for me to boast as if it was *me* who quit eating from that tree. It is He who removed me from that path and it is He who put me on the path of Life.

• Are we sick of gorging, binging, and vomiting up our self righteousness?
• Are we really ready to quit licking it back up and willing to break out of that vicious cycle?

We don't have the power to quit an addiction on our own. But we most certainly know when we're ready for help..it is then that all we need to do is ask. It has to be Him who frees us.

You may wonder..'If I don't judge between good and evil then how will I live?'

{By faith in our Living Messiah}

 Each day that we walk by faith, He feeds us, just as His people were fed in the wilderness. But let us not become disgruntled and unsatisfied with His provision for our souls.

He met with the disciples and broke bread with them. They partook in the feast together in fellowship, communion, and love. 

He multiplied the lunch of a small boy to feed thousands of families. He prepared fish for the disciples after a long night of hard work at sea.

He is very well equipped and capable of feeding us by His own hand. All these stories are simply metaphorical of the very fact that our Lord knows how to feed us spiritually. Simply rest in Him and walk by faith.

Genesis 2:15-17 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Deuteronomy 8:3 And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Lord, be our Life, our Bread, our Word.

Lisa

The Great Church Race

Christians all over the world are concerned about the amount of people leaving their buildings and in response to this they condemn, compete to keep their attention, and manipulate to keep them involved.

{Something's wrong with this picture.}

I'm not suggesting the mass exodus of people from the churches is a problem, it's the tactics that are a problem.

The mega church building or even the tiniest of country churches are traditional places to gather, but not mandatory for worship, discipleship, and fellowship.

Did you get that?  

{They can gather wherever they want.}

The hymnals many churches go into debt to purchase are not mandatory for worship. Singing from hymnals is a tradition, not a biblical mandate. We sing from what is within our hearts and we can sing through various uplifting music that praises God.

There's no need for pews or pew chairs. You can use couches, LazyBoy chairs, and futons if you'd like. Sit on whatever you have, whatever is comfortable, even if it's the picnic bench or a blanket on the grass at the park.

Do you know where the homeless believers gather? Maybe it's surprising to some that they don't feel comfortable in churches in their musty wrinkled clothes. Some of them know their presence would make church people uncomfortable, so out of respect... they refrain from going. They don't have a building to gather in or money to give, but they gather under bridges and share the leftover food given to them the night before as they stood on the street corner outside the restaurant. That food is their communion among one another and Christ.

A pastor that completes four years of seminary, who holds a stamp of approval from his denomination doesn't necessarily mean God has qualified him. Several of the disciples who later became apostles didn't go to seminary. They lived life watching Jesus interact with people, He was their teacher, and because of the timing of His death, they only had three and a half years of training. Maybe I missed it somewhere, but did Jesus remember to give them a graduation service and a certificate before they could 'pastor' a church?

Well, by now you probably think I have desecrated the traditional church, but in fact I am getting around to something different. Something out-of-the-box unusual. Something that is so spontaneous and out of the ordinary that most church folk completely miss it.

There are so many books being written by tradition in-the-box preachers of mega churches that has me deeply concerned. They seem to be in a rat race of sorts. The Great Church Race. There's an electric buzz of excitement about how to make church better, how to get to the next level of service, how to engage people into the church life, and how we all need to be doing something bigger and better. What's the hurry? Why such insistence on doing it their way? And why when someone disagrees with their way and chooses not to follow suit, are people being condemned, rebuked, and belittled?

So here we have this Great Church Race to 'do something great' in the world.

Pardon me a moment as I ask a simple question.

What was the one thing Jesus wanted us to do in this world?

{Love others}

It seems to me that is simple enough and while a church thinks it's doing something great by attracting people into their buildings and providing entertainment, activities, classes, etc to keep them interested...without love... it's all clanging cymbals.

So does Love insist that it's church has more to offer?

Does Love use entertainment to attract people to itself?

Does Love demand submission to a man with a four year seminary certificate?

Does Love need to be loud and perform great feats to get your attention?

Love is patient (no need for a race)

Love is kind (no need to abruptly attract people)

Does not boast (no bragging of what it has to offer)

Does not insist on it's own way (it yields to others)

In this life in Christ are these things a 'must have'?

building

hymnals

pews

For there abides these three

faith

hope

love

And yet the greatest of those three is Love.

• Love cannot be taught with a cookie cutter model.
• Love cannot be forced as if by intravenous medicine made by man.
• Love does not race to get your attention.

• Love comes naturally.
• Love flows naturally.
• Love yields naturally.

If we are so worked up about the Great Church Race, then are we really resting in Christ?
Are we truly yielding in Him?
His yoke is light and easy.
Life in Him will not leave you worked up, exhausted, anxiety ridden to perform, or condemned if you don't join the race.

Disneyland can be an exciting place to gather and enjoy with our fellow believers. It's all so exciting! But it sure takes a lot of work and a lot of money to keep it going and as soon as the rides break down, the people feel empty and unsatisfied. Much like a come down from a sugar rush..some tend to crash.

But for those who capture the spirit of Disneyland, all the rides can be permanently shut down and they will still be fully satisfied, because what they grasped was in the heart. To be like a child again. When everything is a wonderland of exploration to them. Those little things we enjoy in child like faith. And to live knowing we are deeply loved and special people because the Creator made us that way.

So when those who insist on being entertained become disgruntled and leave, those who rest in our Lord and take in His heart in the everyday little glimpses of His Majesty, will be the ones who can walk away from the amusement park and walk into the world with something to share with others.

And it's found as we live life each and everyday, in the out-of-the-box way, among one another, in the simplest ways, in the real world, in a better Kingdom, in the Upsidedown Kingdom.

What is this?

{The Spirit of our Living God}

Where is this Kingdom found?

{The Kingdom is found within you}

Scriptures to ponder:

Luke 17:21

1 Peter 2:5

1 Corinthians 13

2 Corinthians 3

John 13:35

Lisa