I'm not a trinitarian

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: (Deuteronomy 6:4)

My pastor said something in his sermon last night that blew me away. 

He said, "I am not a trinitarian!" 

How refreshing in these modern times where most "Christians" worship either a "God-headquarters", or a 3 headed monstrosity. 

Yet, scripture itself proudly and boldly proclaims that there is only ONE God. 

That is not a unity, as many like to say. No, sir. It is emphatically only one in essence. ONE divine being. 

The confusion seems to center around the incarnation. How can God be one God, yet Jesus be God? 

Let's have a look, shall we? 

The first thing that we must understand is that God is omnipresent. In other words, he's everywhere all at the same time. David put it this way: 

7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

10 Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.

12 Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. (Psalms 139:7-12)

In other words, there is no place we can go where God is not there! I realize that this is more than our minds can usually comprehend, but it's still true. 

So, why does scripture say that Jesus is at the right hand of the father?

It's a spiritual word picture that expresses the fact that Jesus has all power and authority. 

Take when the children of Israel crossed the red sea, for example.

Exodus 14: 21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.

22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.

24 And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,

25 And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians.

26 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.

27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.

28 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.

29 But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

30 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.

31 And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.

Great story! An awesome move of God almighty! Now look at the song of praise in the next chapter 15:

6 Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.

Go back and read the story again. Please show me where a huge arm came down out of the heavens and smashed the Egyptians. I'll wait.

It's not there because it's a spiritual word picture of what physically happened. Why the right hand? Because most humans are right-handed and that is their strongest arm because it gets the most use. So, when scripture refers to God's right hand, it is not referring to a literal arm or a literal place. It is referring to God's strength and power!

How about this one?

8 And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.

Read the story of the red sea again. Please show me where a literal nose comes down out of the clouds and sneezes, causing the waters to divide in a heap. Again, I'll wait.

It's not there because it's a spiritual word picture of what physically happened. God causes the wind to blow so hard that the waters divide and the ground below dries up allowing the Israelites to cross. 

10 Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.

Did enormous lips descend from the sky and cause the waters to return to where they had been and cover the Egyptians? No! It's another word picture used to help our finite minds to understand something our infinite God did. 

The term "right hand of God" is used 8 times in the New Testament. "Right hand of power" is used twice. 

These 10 verses seem to be the central cause of misunderstanding "the Godhead." BTW, the term Godhead simply means "divinity." It means he is GOD. It is not, as many say, a God headquarters. 

A simple question to ask. 

If God is omnipresent and there is no place where he is not, then how does anyone stand or sit beside him in any way, shape, or form? I'll wait.

To sit beside a being that is everywhere requires another place to be created outside of God for this being to sit. But, there's no place anyone can go where they can be beside God. 

The term right hand, when it is used in reference to God, always refers to God's strength and power. It's never a literal place. So, when scripture says that Jesus is on or at God's right hand, it is simply saying that Jesus is God and is all-powerful! 

Jesus said this himself. 

Matthew 28:18

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Now, let that sink in. If Jesus has ALL power, then, if there's a trinity, the other 2 "God's" are powerless because Jesus has all power. 

If Jesus is a part of a "trinity", then they have shared power and none of them have all power. Therefore, this verse would not be true. Furthermore, if Jesus is part of a trinity, then he would have no need to be given anything. He'd already have it. 

But, wait, brother Mike. Are you now saying Jesus is not God at all? 

Not at all. 

Here's the crux of the matter. God became flesh. 

1 Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

It does not say "God the Son," or even "the Son of God" was manifested in the flesh. It clearly says GOD HIMSELF was manifested in the flesh. What's the difference? 

First of all, the term God, the Son is never ever found in scripture. Not even once. It's a made-up term by people trying to defend a false "triune" god. 

Secondly, the terms "son of God" and "son of man" are synonymous terms that refer to the flesh, or the MAN Christ Jesus. 

The angel told Mary about her baby that: "therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35)

Satan and his demons called Jesus, "son of God" on multiple occasions (Matthew 4:3; Matthew 4:6; Matthew 8:28-29; Mark 3:11; Luke 4:3; Luke 4:9; Luke 4:41; Luke 8:28). 

And yes, John the Baptist and others called him the "son of God" (Matthew 14:33; Matthew 27:54; Mark 1:1; Mark 15:39; Luke 1:35; John 1:34; John 1:49; John 11:27; John 20:31).

And Jesus himself said he was "the son of God" (Matthew 27:43; Luke 22:70; John 3:18; John 5:25; John 9:35-37; John 10:36; John 11:4).

Therefore, I truly admit that Jesus is the son of God. 

But, notice this often overlooked scripture: 

6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:

7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:

8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (1 Corinthians 2:6-8)

Satan (the prince of the powers of the air-Ephesians 2:2) and his demons (Ephesians 3:10; Ephesians 6:12) DID NOT KNOW who Jesus really was! Their human counterparts on earth DID NOT KNOW who Jesus was! 

Indeed, if they had known who Jesus truly was, they would've fallen on their faces before the very LORD OF GLORY, the Father and creator of all! So, God hid himself in human flesh in order to pay for our sins and restore relationship with man. 

Yes, Jesus is the son of God, but he is also GOD ALMIGHTY in human flesh! (John 1:1.14; John 1:18; John 5:18; John 8:56-59; John 10:30; John 14; John 15:23-24, Isaiah 9:6 and many more).

Jesus has all power (Matthew 28:19), therefore if there's a trinity, the other 2 are powerless!

Jesus has all wisdom (Romans 16:27; 1 Timothy 1:17; Jude 1:25), therefore if there's a trinity, the other 2 have no wisdom! 

God is our only savior (Isaiah 43:3-11), and Jesus is our savior (Philippians 3:20), therefore Jesus is God!

I could go on and on. 

The flesh of Jesus is the son of God. The spirit inside of him and everywhere else is God almighty. Jesus is God alone!

Yes, God sent his Son to die for our sins, that's how God shed "HIS OWN BLOOD (Acts 20:28). But, get the bigger picture here.

This was not a father looking down and seeing all the sin and turning to his son to go and die for that sin. 

This was The Father BECOMING a son and shedding HIS OWN BLOOD in order to pay for our sins. 

How much more loving a God could we have? 

I am not a trinitarian and never will I be. Jesus is GOD all by himself. Any other teaching cheapens the message of calvary and places divisions in our God that do not exist.  

Jesus- because he's God!

For those of you who pray for me and my family, thank you. We have had a lot going on of late. I was able to go back to work after nearly two months of being out with both gall bladder surgery and a very extensive blood clot in my left arm. The Lord has faithfully taken care of us. Our youngest daughter, Heather, is now engaged to an Apostolic Marine, so we have all the wedding planning to do. My second week back to work (last week), had me running 16 hour days and I am physically ill from the strain of it. So, rather than getting ready for church this morning, I'm sitting in my living room coughing and sneezing and writing this blog. We do covet your prayers!

But, as I thought about how faithful the Lord has been to me and my family, an old song began to ring through my soul. It's called "He'd still been God". You can find the lyrics and hear it here: http://christiansongoftheday.blogspot.com/2009/06/hed-still-been-god.html

You see, many of us, when we think of Jesus, we think of Calvary, or healings, or salvation, or deliverance. We thank him for all he's done and all he's gonna do. We praise him for all his mighty wonders. We exalt him for .... (you fill in the blank). However, I think there's something we tend to overlook.

Jesus is worthy of all praise and glory and honor, not just because of all he's done, but because of who he is.

Jesus IS God!

The old Testament declares it: Isaiah 9:6

Jesus declared it: John 8:56-59, John 14: 6-11

The Apostles declare it: John 1:1,14; Colossians 2: 8-10; Colossians 1:12-19; 1 Timothy 1: 15-17, etc

We should praise him for all he's done. But, we should also praise him for who he is! As the song so beautifully says: "Even if he never did another single miracle, Jesus would've still been God."

He is not a politician to be elected again to represent us because we like his policies. He is not a mystical servant who exists to serve us what we think we need. He is not some cosmic Santa Claus who is supposed to give us all toys to play with.

He is God alone. And we who follow him (indeed, all of creation- even if folks choose not to follow him) are duty and love bound to worship him- for he is God. He is an awesome God, but he is God.

If we love our spouses only for what they can do for us, do we truly love them? No. We love them for who they are. The things they do for us are the icing on the cake. If we love Jesus only for what he does for us, do we love him? No. The wonderful things he does for us are the tip of the iceberg. Let's remember who he truly is and love him for that.

The scriptures declare that: Philippians 2:⁹ Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

¹⁰ That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

¹¹ And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We're ALL gonna bow one day. We may as well do it today from our hearts, rather than then because we're forced to.

So today as we worship him, let's just love him for who he is. He is worthy because he is God.

Excuse me, but your insides are hanging out!

Imagine with me that your walking through the streets of your town. As you walk, you begin to notice that some folks are looking at you strangely. The farther you walk, the more folks keep looking at you. You don't wonder about yourself. You know there's nothing wrong with you. You're not sure what's gotten into these people, but they have problems. You decide to ignore their stares.

Finally, a kindly old gentleman approaches you. He begins to speak to you in a nice, but concerned manner. His words strike you as strange, for what he says is, "Excuse me, but your insides are hanging out." You're offended at first, but your automatic reaction is to look down. Sure enough, your insides are hanging out!

You are stunned! Fear takes a hold of you. You begin to feel weak and dizzy. Your breathing becomes rapid and shallow. But, the old man, places gentle hands on your shoulders, looks you in the eyes, and says, "It's OK. I'm a doctor. Let's get you into this hospital over here and we'll fix you right up.

Does this sound ludicrous to you? Of course. Yet, millions of people every day do just what you were doing in the above story: they walk around with their insides hanging out. Not physically, to be sure. But, all of our inner lives are on full display for all the world to see everyday. It's obvious by our actions and speech (remember, "out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh", Jesus said.) to any who care to look closely, what we truly believe.

Proverbs 23: ^{7a "}For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..."


Our actions always follow our emotions. Our emotions always follow our beliefs. Our beliefs always follow our thoughts. Who we are on the inside is- quite literally, who we are! 


This is why the scriptures warn us to think only on godly things and, in this way, to guard our hearts. If our thought life is in line, then our beliefs will be in line. If our beliefs are in line, then our emotions will be in line. If our emotions are in line, then our actions will be in line. 


As an example, lets look at Saul's life. 


King Saul's story begins in 1 Samuel 9. We find him out looking for his fathers donkeys with a servant. His father, according to verse 1, was a "mighty man of power." His father evidently was a man of some financial means, as he owned animals and had multiple servants. With money comes power. So, he was an influential man, as well. 


Saul, was a young man who seemed to have his life planned out ahead of him- beautifully! Grow up in wealth and prestige. Take over the family biz. Grow that wealth and prestige. But, the Lord God had other plans.


Israel had lived in a theocracy for hundreds of years. But, Israel wanted to be like everyone else and have a king. So, the Lord looks around and chooses Saul. He doesn't allow Saul to find the animals. He gets him so frustrated that Saul goes looking for the judge/prophet Samuel to learn where the animals were.


This is where Saul's life takes a sudden turn. Like Saul, most of the time, when God wishes to call us into a different direction, it seems he reaches into our everyday lives to work things to get our attention and point us in a different way. 


Saul is told that God is calling him to be King over Israel. Talk about unqualified! From herding animals to leading a nation- Oh what a change. God equips him by filling him with his spirit to strengthen and guide Saul in his new duties. God gave him a great start! 1 Samuel 10: 9-10)


Saul is a bold man, if nothing else. We've already been told of the wealth and prestige his Father had. Yet, he has the audacity to LIE to God's prophet about who he is in society: ^21"And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou so to me?"


He's a liar who suffers from low self esteem- as most liars do. Already, his insides (who he really is) are beginning to show. To top that off, on the day of his coronation, Saul is nowhere to be found. Where is he? He's out "hiding amongst the stuff." (1 Samuel 10: 22) He doesn't want the responsibility God has given him. More of his insides were hanging out. 


How many of us RUN from the call of God on our lives because we don't want the responsibility, nor do we desire the necessary change in our lives. So, we hide in the stuff of life. We get caught up in entertainment, our jobs, finances, parties, status, etc. All the while, God has a job for us to do that will benefit many other people- IF we will submit.  


Later, he is told to wait on Samuel to come and sacrifice before he goes off to war. Samuel is late. Some of his men begin to leave him. Saul's lack of faith in the God who called him, his looking to others to validate his self esteem, and his impatience come rapidly to the surface. He steps out of his God-given role and tries to stand in Samuel's role. He performs the sacrifices.


As he's cleaning up his mess, Samuel comes. God requires obedience and listening to him MORE than he requires sacrifice. Saul's lack of letting God change him costs him dearly. He fulfills the ritual, in the wrong way. 


He should have been praying and seeking God all along. When he was hiding in the stuff, he should have been asking for God's direction. Instead of religion and ceremony, he should have sought relationship. 


Due to his bad insides, he has a bad ending. He loses his kingdom and loses out with God. 


Saul was placed under immense pressure. This pressure caused the real him to come out for all the world to see. 


Like Saul, God calls us- even with our bad insides hanging out. But, if we don't enter into relationship with him and allow God to change our insides, we will lose our promises and lose out with God as well. 


Let us be like David: "Create in me a clean heart, Oh Lord, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence, Oh Lord. Take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me all the joy of thy salvation." 

The worlds junk, is God's treasure!

1 Corinthians 1:⁹Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

 ¹⁰Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

 ¹¹And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Romans 5:8
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

1 Timothy 2:5-6

King James Version (KJV)

 ⁵For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

 ⁶Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

The world likes NEW things. Their way of doing things is "Out with the old and in with the new." Old things are looked on with disdain. Everything's got to be new. We've got to have the newest fashions, newest cars, and new homes. People get bored with the old TV shows and press for new shows. News shows focus on the latest and most current events. Magazines and newspapers focus on the newest happenings with the hottest music and film stars. And the mantra goes on: New, new, new, new, new...!

Yet, some folks in this world can see the hidden treasures in the old things. Old people, rather than being a burden to them, are a treasure trove of wisdom, love, and understanding. Old homes are things that can be fixed up to make them look better than the new stuff. After all, they were built better than the new stuff! 

New houses use inferior material when compared to the old. New cars wear out quicker and are less able to handle a crash or two than their older counterparts. 

These folks can go to a garage sale and find and fix up things that would amaze the average person. Old instruments can be repaired. Old cars and motorcycles can be renewed and last longer than the new ones- if a person knows what they're doing. 

God looked down on a desperately evil and corrupt world. He could've decided to destroy it all and start over with a new creation. Out with the old and in with the new, right? Not so, with God!

God looked down and said, "I love them! They are idolaters, adulterers, murderers, proud, deceitful, they love themselves and pleasure more than they love me and others. I could start over, BUT.... I'm gonna make a way to make them new!"

So the murderer Paul becomes a great Apostle! The proud and boastful Peter becomes a humble and mighty evangelist. Millions of peoples lives have been transformed from the trash heap to become a shining example of the love, mercy, and Grace of God! 

So who'll be next? You? Will you head the master's call and respond? Will you follow his death, burial, and resurrection by Repentance, Baptism in Jesus name, and allowing him to fill you with the Holy Ghost? Will you let him pull you from worlds trash piles?

The world has told you that you're garbage! God says you're invaluable! The world says you're worthless. God says you're worth Calvary! Every stripe, every nail, every strip of flesh that hung off his body, every thorn in his brow- he says was meant to buy you back! 

It doesn't matter where you've been or what you've done, the invitation is open for whosoever will. The world will us you up and leave you to die. God will pick you up and set your feet on high. 

Come on! What are you waiting for? Today is the day of salvation! Won't you answer his call? 

THE CONSEQUENCES OF REBELLION!

1 Samuel 15:22-24

King James Version (KJV)

 ^22"And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

 ²³For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.

 ²⁴And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the LORD, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice."                                                              

Exodus 22:18
Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

We've just come through another Halloween season. Whether you take part or not is not what we are here to discuss today. What is an irrefutable fact, however, is that- all in all- it is a very demonic and evil holiday. It is represented by monsters and ghouls, vampires and werewolves, and witches. 

Most of us today- those who call ourselves Christians- wouldn't even think of getting involved in witchcraft. We understand that it is evil, demonic, and an abomination in the eyes of God. 

There are many forms of witchcraft. From Satanism to Wicca there are terrible false religions based upon it. There's astrology (Chinese or otherwise, it doesn't matter), Ouija boards (presented as a game), tarot cards, TV shows, Movies (Harry Potter is a great example of the glorification of witchcraft), etc. 


We are told that there is both good and bad witchcraft. This is a lie. God is very clear on his opinion of witchcraft in all forms. "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." Witchcraft, in the eyes of God, is a sin worthy of the death penalty- period! No such thing as a good witch!  


I know. I can hear you saying, "But we live under Grace now. God doesn't enforce that any longer." My response to you is "Yes and No." 


Yes, we live under Grace. We are all given ample time to get things right between us and God before we have to meet him on judgement day. 


No, your wrong about God not enforcing the penalty. While it is true that we are not to kill witches any longer, it doesn't change God's view of it. It also doesn't mean God has forgotten his own penalty. The price will be paid. It's a delayed penalty. Delayed, in case the wrong doer should decide to be born again and have this and other sins washed under his blood. But, for those who insist on continuing, hell will be very hot.


However, there is another form of witchcraft today that is alive and well. It is more dangerous than open witchcraft because it is so smooth that most don't notice it. Though most people don't go around casting spells, there are many that fall into this sin because it seems so natural to us. 


We live in the "land of the free". We have been taught that we can do anything we doggone well please. We scoff at constrictive laws that limit what we can do. We are free to chose how we will live and what we will do. Unfortunately, our freedom- as blessed as we are- has given birth to a much more dangerous sin than divination or necromancy. It's called REBELLION. 


Rebellion, in the eyes of God is a very serious thing, indeed. So much so that he tells us that there is no difference between witchcraft and rebellion. A witch, in the law, is to be stoned. But what about a rebel? 


Being from the south, the term rebel is a term of endearment to us. We revel in our rebellion. We're proud of it. Yet, how does God see rebellion against him? 


The first sin was actually not in the Garden of Eden. The first sin was done by an Archangel named Lucifer. 


Isaiah 14:^12"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

 ¹³For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:

 ¹⁴I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High". 


The first sin was rebellion! What was the result?


Ezekiel 28:^13"Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

 ¹⁴Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire (the stars).

 ¹⁵Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

 ¹⁶By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

 ¹⁷Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

 ¹⁸Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee".     


He lost out with God and lost his position. HE became the center of the universe in his own mind. HE looked at his own talents, beauty, and abilities and decided that he had the right to do what he wanted. Who cares what God thinks? He's an old fuddy-duddy anyway! He just doesn't want me to have fun! I deserve to be exalted- not him! These others should lift ME up and worship me! 


One thought at a time. One little bit of pride on top of another led to conceit. This conceit led to rebellion. His rebellion led to he and 1/3rd of the Angels that followed him ending up cast out on their ears. They also have a future date with a lake of fire that will torment them forever. All because of rebellion! 


In humans, rebellion brings sin, as well as is sin. It leads to drug addiction, sexual sin, alcoholism, divorces, illegitimate children, self-centeredness, murder, abortion, and stealing. It destroys relationships, breaks up homes, and brings chaos in society. Worse, our attitude towards others ("Who do they think they are? They can't tell me what to do!") translates into our attitude towards God ("Who does he think he is? He can't tell me what to do!") 


In our honest moments, we realize that we truly can't make it on our own. When we're truthful, we realize that the best we can do is make a mess of things. When we reach that point of honesty, we are left with two choices. 


1) We can dive off into entertainment, drugs, alcohol, and illicit sex. This begins a seemingly endless cycle. We do what makes us temporarily feel good. Then, when we come down off that "high", the sin makes us feel even worse about ourselves. We see ourselves for the wretch that we are. Then, we dive off into more of the same (or worse), in a vain effort to try and make ourselves feel better about ourselves. 


We truly will do anything to try and cover our own sins. But, in the end, it doesn't work. If a person stays on this road, they will wind up dead. All they will have to leave behind as a legacy is a wasted life and a trail of tears- with no good eternal future to look forward to.


2) We can turn to God in honest repentance! We can go where the masses refuse to go. We can put down our pride. Stop our rebellion. And throw ourselves on the mercy of the judge! When we do, we will find something amazing happens! 


MERCY! A new lease on life! A new chance! We can obediently follow Acts 2:38 and be born again! ALL of our past sins washed in his blood! All of our weaknesses given to him. Our future will then be in the hands of the master, the creator, the author and finisher of our faith! 


He will take away the addictions. He will transform our lives into something beautiful. He will make us into a useful member of the kingdom of God. 


But, the choice is ours. What do we do with it? Do we submit to him and stay submitted to him, and be on our way to eternity with him? Or, do we refuse him and keep on destroying our lives? Does the rebellion end in Grace? Or does the rebellion end in hell? One way or the other the rebellion will end. Which way will yours? 

All kids argue.

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it." - Proverbs 22:6

"He that is weak in the faith, receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations" -Romans 14:1

"Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves." - Philippians 2:3

"By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." -John 13:35

I love facebook. I love the interaction between friends and colleagues. I love meeting new people who are part of the body of Christ. I enjoy the conversation, the testimonies, and (surprise to those who know me- wink, wink) the debates. If I have a life verse, as they call it, outside of ACTS 2:38, it would probably be the Proverb that says "As Iron sharpens Iron, so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." In short, put another way, I'll have to begrudgingly admit that- long pause as I gather courage to say it- I enjoy a good argument.

I don't look at it as being hard headed or thinking that I'm always right. My mother, however, used to say that there is a right way, a wrong way, and Mike's way. I guess that means I'm a bit peculiar. I am, in short, opinionated.

I don't mean to come across as a "know it all", at all. I can be a little sure of my opinions, however. To some, this has come across like I think I know it all. Let me be clear- I do NOT know everything. I don't claim to know everything. I will never know everything in this lifetime.

That said, I love to study the word of God and share what God illuminates to me there. Sometimes this sharing has rankled a few feathers of my fellow preachers. Let me say to you all, I'm sorry for upsetting you.

You have your walk with God and I have mine. Some of you and I can agree and get along well. Others of you and I tend to agree to disagree a lot. That's ok, too. We are all at differing levels of understanding of God's word in differing areas of that word. Some of us may know more in one area than others. Others know more in other areas than still others. All of this is ok. We are all God's children and God's kids will argue and disagree from time to time.

The problem comes where we, and I do say WE (me included 4 fingers pointing back at me), get so upset over the others arguments that we go too far. We push so hard to prove a point that we make the other one tend to feel like we think we're better than them, or that they're stupid, or some other such nonsense.

Scripture tells us to esteem each other as being higher than ourselves. I can heartily agree with Paul when he said he was the "least" of the Apostles. We may all be preachers, but many of you have done far more for the kingdom than I've ever dreamed of doing. Truly, I am the least of my brethren.

Scripture also says that we will one day come to a unity of faith. I'm not talking about the basic Bible doctrines like the oneness of God and the plan of salvation. Indeed, we should all have these down pat. It's the other stuff: definitions of holiness, what a Christian can and can't do, who were the sons of God, etc, where we get a little hung up on.

I believe the day of unity in these things will be the day he calls us home and explains it all to us.

I, and all of us, will probably be surprised, both at what we had right and what we had wrong. If we'll just hold on to Jesus- together-, pray with and for each other, show love TO each other, we'll make it. It's the love of God that will show the world that we are God's people, not our scripture quotations or our knowledge.

So, I said all of that to say this: To all those that I have offended in trying to prove a point, to all that I have hurt by the tone of what I said- or the inference of the words- PLEASE FORGIVE ME! It is not my intention to prove to you how great I am! I am nothing! Jesus is everything! For those who are higher up than I on God's food chain, pray for this hard headed preacher to learn to show a little more love!

The Nest, part 2

"And we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God, to them who are the called according to HIS (emphasis mine) purpose." -Romans 8:28

"They that sow in tears shall reap in joy." - Psalms 126:5

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a little Robin's seemingly futile attempts at building a nest. Given the location (the window sill above our front door), the very small frame it was attempting to build on, and the wind that seemed to blow the nest apart, it seemed a lost cause. However, today I must report to you that "Mildred" (my wife's name for the mother robin) was not only successful in her attempts, but she now has a small brood of baby robins to care for.

This got me to thinking, again. Life is not easy. Our lives seem to be filled with troubles that follow us from the cradle to the grave. Yet, the prosperity preachers continually shout how wonderful and blessed our God wants our lives to be. The usually unspoken flip side of this false doctrine is that if a person is struggling, then somehow they had a lack of faith- or didn't have enough faith with which to hold onto their miracle.

Mildred kept working at her appointed, and impossible, task in spite of her circumstances. She dealt with the wind. She avoided the predators. She stayed watchful and vigilant as she worked. Finally, the nest was done and she began the even more consuming task of caring for the eggs. After the chicks were born (can you call a baby robin a chick? I don't know.), she set out to find food and keep herself and the little ones both fed and safe from harm.

I believe that we humans tend to constantly look for easy street. We are continually trying to avoid the hard things in life. Worse, we've twisted our theology so badly that we- contrary to 1 Timothy 6:5 - suppose that gain IS godliness. When we find ourselves struggling we somehow believe, much like the disciples in the storm while Jesus slept, that God has abandoned us. Not so.

Every test and trial that we go through will be turned for our good IF:

a) we continue our love for the Lord, and

b) we walk in our calling, or if you'd prefer another term, his purpose for our lives.

When we find ourselves struggling in the storms of life, we need to keep loving Jesus. When everything in our lives that we try to do - like Mildred's nest- is continually falling apart in the winds of life, we need to keep loving Jesus AND keep trying to accomplish that which God has given us to do.

If we will - again, just like Mildred- we will see the dream take shape and life spring forth from a hopeless situation! We cannot give up and stop trying. No matter how bad the situation, God WILL make it work for good in both our lives, and his kingdom. How many people that point a finger at our lives and watch us struggle, may become that new born saint? How, you ask? As a result of them witnessing the Red sea parting in our lives. How many of our children will remember that we never gave up on God in our struggles and find the strength to keep living for God in theirs.

No. The struggle isn't easy, but it will be worth it- no matter the situation- to see others enter the kingdom through the "word of (our) testimony." Life's hard, but God specializes in making something beautiful out of our messes, if we let him. If you're struggling today, hold on to Jesus and keep working at your mission. One day, it'll be worth itl. God is truly good- and he makes our circumstances work out for good- all the time. And all the time, God is good.

The nest

"Set your affection on things above, not on the things on the earth." Col 3:2

We have a rather interesting drama going on here at our home. No, we're not having a major family problem or anything. Let me explain.

Attached to our home is a covered deck. There is also lattice attached to the side area of the deck near the door. As such, our front door area is somewhat protected from the elements. The door is surrounded by glass panes. The top panes have 2 x 2's surrounding them. It's an older home, but the front door area is nice and inviting.

Especially to a certain bird. You see, for the better part of a week now. A bird- a robin, I think- has been steadily trying to build a nest onto one of the wooden lips where the glass is around the upper right side of the front door. Here's the problem.

You see, the lip is far to small to provide a quality base for the nest to sit on. The parts of the nest that aren't firmly on the window sill are constantly falling off due to simple gravity. Then there's the wind that blows through the lattice (about two feet away from the nest). The parts of the nest not taken down by gravity, are systematically scattered around by the wind. Yet, the bird continues its futile efforts to build a nest for it's family. What it really needs to do is change the surroundings and find a better foundation to build it's nest on.

How like that Robin most of us are! We get so caught up in the temporary. We like the looks of something and, usually with very little forethought, we go running after it- never once considering the possible future ramifications to ourselves and our loved ones. We chase the better job, the better car, and the better house. We pursue the corporate ladder, the higher educational degree, the more prestigious neighborhoods and churches.

Then, like that Robin, we find ourselves in a seemingly never ending battle to pick up the pieces of our lives. All the while wondering why God allowed us to go through all that. Meanwhile, God, just like me watching the bird's struggles, wonders when we're going to quit throwing effort after foolishness. His desire is for us to have our lives built on the firm foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

That's not to say that life is easy or even prosperous when we are living for Jesus. However, we have the priceless gift of knowing that we're not alone. We have his spirit to lead, guide, and comfort us throughout our lives. Then, we also have the gift of avoiding some of the life winds and great falls that we otherwise would have if we chose to go our own way!

No, God doesn't promise us great riches and glory. However, he does promise to never leave us nor forsake us. He does promise to guide us. And he does tell us that, if we will but endure unto the end, he will one day take us to be with him forever- where there will be no more pain, no more tears, and no more suffering. What a day that will be!

What is that CEO position, when compared to the streets of Gold? What is that PH.D., when compared to eternity with Jesus? What is that big home on the golf course, when compared to walking the streets of God's city- hand in hand with the family he gave us and helped us to guide them in his ways? What is the praise of this world, when compared to hearing our Savior say, "Well done my good and faithful servant- enter ye in..."?

Where are we building our kingdoms today? Where is the foundation of our lives today? Is it on the temporary things of this world? Or are our feet set firmly on the rock of our salvation?
Just something for all of us to think- and pray- about.

Just let them grow up! (by our daughter- Heather)

A green-eyed towhead girl sat on the kitchen floor banging spoons together. Mom was standing at the stove stirring a pot of stew for dinner that night.
The phone rings.

“Lucy” mom said, “ I have to step out and answer the phone. Don’t touch the stove it is very hot and you will get burned.”

Like every kid Lucy’s curiosity got the best of her.
She toddled her way over to the stove and reached up her tiny hand. She soon found out what hot meant.
As she let out a cry mom was soon their pulling Lucy into her arms.

“It’s okay sweetheart” mommy crooned, “I am here and I will help to make it feel all better.”

Yes the mom could have taken Lucy with her but how would Lucy have ever learned what hot meant. You see we can shelter someone so much that we never let them grow up. Sometime the best thing to do is let them learn and when they hurt we can always be there for them to wipe the tears away. A part of hurting is a part of growing. It comes one way or another. The thing is to let them know that you are always there for them and you love them.

God is that way. He lets us grow and find out for ourselves what life is all about. Just like the mom in this story he is there to pick us up when we fall and He forgives us.

So just a thought, maybe letting go is the best thing that we could ever do. We might just be surprised at the outcome.